Box Score (PDF)

LOWELL, Mass. – Senior Brianna West (Fairfield, Conn.) roped her first career home run in the bottom of the fifth to lift the UMass Lowell softball team (24-14, 12-0 AE) to a 9-0, walk-off victory against Hartford (18-25, 5-10 AE) on Wednesday afternoon.
 
That was the final game of a three-game series against Hartford, and with the win, the River Hawks not only improve to a perfect, 12-0 in America East play, but also tie the Division I program record for single-season conference victories.
 
"I had watched video from the last time we played Hartford and I told the team that we look like we've been improving since then and look like a much better team even from a couple weeks ago," said Head Coach Danielle Henderson. "In warmups, I thought we looked very focused and determined, and knew not to look past Hartford because they've been on a roll. I'm happy we were able to get out there, and just fight and play our game."
 
West finished the day with a team-best three RBI. Juniors Christina Rizzi (Manorville, N.Y.) and Marianna Sparacia (Spring Hill, Fla.) added to the offense with two hits and two RBI apiece, while classmates Casey Harding (Cheshire, Conn.) and Melany Sheldon (Garbagnate, Milan, Italy) rounded out the River Hawks with multiple hits in the outing. Senior Kaysee Talcik (Shelton, Conn.) went the distance in the circle for her ninth win and second shutout of the year.
 
The River Hawk defense extinguished early opportunities for the visitors with the help of two strikeouts from Talcik in the first and a double play by Sparacia in the second. The home team was then able to jump out to a 2-0 lead thanks to a base hit from Sparacia and a triple down the right field line by Rizzi.
 
Hartford stranded their third runner of the day in the top of the third before the River Hawks put together a big, five-run rally on seven hits in the home half of the inning to pull away, 7-0.
 
Talcik retired the next six straight batters she faced to keep Hartford off the board. A lead-off single by Sheldon in the bottom of the fifth brought up West, who would capitalize on the situation with her two-run dinger to end the game, 9-0, in just five innings.
 
UMass Lowell now leads the all-time series against Hartford, 15-2. Next up, the River Hawks will head out on the road for a weekend conference series at Stony Brook on Saturday-Sunday, April 27-28.