BATON ROUGE, La. – An eighth inning Tiger rally proved to be the difference, Sunday, as number 22 in the nation LSU came from behind to defeat UMass Lowell, 6-4, and sweep the three game series, at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The loss was the fifth straight for UMass Lowell whose record drops to 4-9.  LSU, an SEC member, is 11-5.  The River Hawks are 0-11, all-time, against teams representing the SEC.  LSU is 12-3 against teams from America East.

"That was a real good baseball game," said UMass Lowell Baseball Head Coach Ken Harring.  "We competed our tails off, we had good at bats, played really good defense and got strong pitching.  I wouldn't do anything different.  It's baseball."

The tight ball game from start to finish, in front of a crowd of 10,321, was in stark contrast to the previous couple of games in which LSU found a way to blow the game wide open in the middle innings.

"This was a good step forward," said Harring.  "The crowd was electric and we competed and battled.  We answered the bell."

The River Hawks jumped on top in the second inning.  Junior first baseman Joey Castellanos (Nutley, N.J.) turned on the first pitch of the inning and drilled it over the wall in left field.  It was his first home run of the year and the second of his career.

The home team responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning.  A walk, a home run by designated hitter Gavin Dugas, a triple and an infield out accounted for the offense.

UMass Lowell narrowed the gap to a single run in the fourth inning when senior designated hitter Ciaran Devenney (Manalapan, N.J.) found the left field wall beckoning.  The home run, which hit half way up on the video board, was his first of the season after leading the team with seven a year ago.

A series of terrific at bats, all with two outs, put the River Hawks on top in the fifth inning.  Freshman Keagan Calero (Rochester, N.H.) ignited the uprising with a single through the left side.  It was his second of two hits in the ball game.

"We made some adjustments before the game during batting practice," according to Harring.  "It's really good to see him swinging it."

Junior Vinnie Martin (Lodi, N.J.) kept the inning going with a single to right.  The stage was set and Castellanos and sophomore Gerry Siracusa (Kinnelon, N.J.) rose to the occasion.  Castellanos, using the whole ball park, bounced a single through the right side and Siracusa followed with a single threw the left side.  Each drove in a run and each of those hits came in two-strike counts.

The lead did not hold up.  LSU jumped back on top in the bottom of the eighth inning.  A pair of walks opened the door, a couple of ground ball outs produced the tying run and Dugas' second home run of the ball game put the Tigers back on top, 6-4.  And that was the final.

The River Hawks out hit LSU, 8-5.  Calero, Martin and Castellanos each had two hits.  The Tigers also showed Martin the ultimate sign of respect, walking him intentionally with a man on second and one-out in the seventh.  The left handed hitter went six-for-eleven in the series to raise his average to .475.

Castellanos also looks like a different hitter than in the past.  He began to come on strong during the second half of his sophomore season and the progress has continued this year.

"He's just a really good hitter," said Harring.  "He's using the whole field and he understands what pitchers are trying to do against him and understands what he has to do."

River Hawk starter sophomore Matt Draper (Lowell, Mass.) pitched five strong innings.  The right hander allowed three runs on four hits.  He walked three but struck out eight.  Draper, who appeared to enjoy the big stage, produced swings and misses to end both the third and fourth innings with runners on base.

"He settled in, he threw strikes, he was terrific," according to Harring.  "He moved the ball around and in and out on hitters and his change up was effective.  He commanded the inside of the plate and that's a key.

Senior right hander Connor Metelski (Wall Township, N.J.) gave the River Hawks two innings of shutdown middle relief.  He retired all six batters he faced, two on fly balls and four on ground balls.

"His ball was sinking," said Harring.  "He was focused and gave us two great innings."

Sophomore reliever Joshua Becker, who pitched the fateful eighth, took the loss.  It was his second of the season.

The River Hawks have Monday off while they travel to Charlottesville, Virginia for a pair of games against the University of Virginia.  Gerry Siracusa is expected to go to the mound on Tuesday against the 12-4 Cavaliers.