HEMPSTEAD, N.Y.—The UMass Lowell softball team closed out its four-game series against Hofstra Sunday afternoon, falling 4-1 and 7-4 at Bill Edwards Stadium. The River Hawks return to the Bay State with a 2-8 record, while the Pride jumps to 6-4.
After two scoreless innings, the River Hawks struck first in Hempstead, with graduate student
Christina Rizzi (Manorville, N.Y.) singling to bring home senior
Olivia Labbe (Rochester, N.Y.) to put UMass Lowell up 1-0 in the third inning. A three-run inning by the Pride to follow pushed the River Hawks to a 3-1 deficit moving into the fourth frame, where Hofstra tacked on the final run of the first game.
In the circle, sophomore
Ryley White (Wareham, Mass.) pitched a complete game to start the afternoon, striking out five Hofstra batters across the seven-inning outing.
Heading into game two, the River Hawks earned the first run once again as graduate student
Courtney Cashman (Danvers, Mass.) sent a ball up the middle to bring in Labbe for her second run of the day. Hofstra bounced back with four runs of its own to close out the third, before continuing their scoring run in the fourth with a three-run inning to extend its lead over UMass Lowell to 7-1.
Looking to cut down the Pride's advantage, the River Hawks came out swinging in the fifth. Labbe found her way home once more, homering off Hofstra's Annabella Pisapia for her first of the season. A fielding error by the Pride gave room for Rizzi to make her way around the bases and pick up a second run for UMass Lowell in the inning, cutting down Hofstra's lead to 7-3.
A late single by sophomore
Brenna Davenport (Merrimack, N.H.) added a final tally to the River Hawks score, but the Pride ultimately claimed the 7-4 victory to cap the weekend.
Sophomore
Chelsea Runyon (Scripps Ranch, Calif.) opened up game two in the circle for the River Hawks, with
Lovina Capria (Deltona, Fla.) relieving her in the fourth.
UMass Lowell opens its home slate on Wednesday, March 24, hosting in-state rival Merrimack for a doubleheader at River View Field. Opening pitch is set for 3 p.m.
