Friday, March 8
vs. UNLV (5:30 p.m.) - Live Stats | Watch Live
at Stanford (10 p.m.) – Live Stats | Watch Live
 
Saturday, March 9
vs. Bucknell (3:15 p.m.) – Live Stats | Watch Live
at Stanford (7:45 p.m.) – Live Stats | Watch Live
 
Sunday, March 10
vs. Bucknell (12 p.m.) – Live Stats | Watch Live
 
STANFORD, Calif. – The UMass Lowell softball team (4-6) will spend spring break in California this year, playing 11 games on the West Coast beginning with five this weekend at the Cardinal Classic. The squad will first square off against UNLV and tournament host Stanford on Friday, March 8. The River Hawks will also face the Cardinal on Saturday, March 9, in addition to games against Bucknell on both Saturday and Sunday, March 10.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The River Hawks went 2-3 at the Holy City Showdown from February 22-24. The squad picked up one win on both Friday and Saturday, defeating Radford, 2-1, and Charleston Southern, 5-0. The team opened the weekend with a hard-fought, 4-3 loss in extra innings against Marshall, while also facing setbacks against UNC Wilmington (9-2) and the College of Charleston (5-1). Junior Courtney Cashman (Danvers, Mass.) led the team with a .467 batting average (7-15), while sophomore pitcher Lovina Capria (Deltona, Fla.) earned both wins in the circle.
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 10 games, Courtney Cashman leads the River Hawks with a .556 batting average, 15 hits, six doubles and eight runs scored. Senior Sydney Barker (Upland, Calif.), who is batting .529, is first on the team with eight RBI. Lovina Capria paces the pitching staff with a 2.22 ERA and 24 strikeouts. 
 
WALK IT OUT
Courtney Cashman's pitch selection at the plate has her ranked second nationally with 1.0 walks per game.
 
NATIONAL NEWS
Courtney Cashman is also ranked among the national leaders in several other categories, including on-base percentage (4th), batting average (7th) and slugging percentage (8th).
 
CLOSE CALLS
The River Hawks have been within striking distance in the majority of their games so far this season, as three of the team's six losses have been decided by two runs or less. Of those contests, two went to extra innings.
 
SENIOR SLUGGER
Sydney Barker started off strong at the plate, opening her senior season with three-run home runs on back-to-back days in Jacksonville. She first drove a three-run bomb that helped lift her squad to a victory against tournament host Jacksonville on Feb. 8 before sending another seventh-inning jack that erased an 8-5 deficit and forced extra innings against Georgia Tech on Feb. 9.
 
WEEKLY AWARDS
Courtney Cashman was named America East Player of the Week after slugging .933 with four RBI and two home runs at the Holy City Showdown on Feb. 22-24. Sydney Barker was tabbed the Player of the Week, while sophomore Lovina Capria garnered a Pitcher of the Week nod to open the season, as both helped the River Hawks earn a pair of victories at the River City Leadoff hosted by Jacksonville from Feb. 8-10.
 
AROUND THE LEAGUE
As a team, UMass Lowell is currently third in the America East standings behind Binghamton (4-5) and UAlbany (3-4). The River Hawks lead the league with six home runs, 93 total bases and 33 walks.
 
NOTABLES
Courtney Cashman matched a career high with four hits against Marshall (2.22) … freshman Tori Mueller logged her first career multi-hit game with three singles against Georgia Tech (2.9) … Lovina Capria logged a season-high seven strikeouts at Jacksonville (2.8).