QUEENS, N.Y. – Just under a year after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic halted their 2020 season the UMass Lowell (1-1) softball program returned to action, opening the 2021 season with a doubleheader split against the St. John Red Storm Saturday at Red Storm Field.
 
The River Hawks dropped the season opener, 8-7, before evening the series with a 6-4 win in the nightcap.
 
Graduate students Courtney Cashman (Danvers, Mass.) and Christina Rizzi (Manorville, N.Y.) led the way for the River Hawk offense, each recording five hits in eight at-bats. Cashman finished the day with a cumulative cycle, driving in three, while Rizzi drove in a pair, each picking up a stolen base. Senior Sarah Ratcliffe (Pelham, N.H.) added three RBI on the day.
 
In back-and-forth first game, Cashman started the season on the right foot for the River Hawks, leading off with a home run in the first at-bat of the season. The Red Storm took the lead in the bottom half of the inning, with back-to-back home runs and a double steal, including a steal of home, putting the River Hawks in a 3-1 hole.
 
UMass Lowell would come storming back in the top of the second. After two quick outs, back-to-back singles brought Cashman to the plate, and she tied the score at three with a triple. Rizzi singled her home to put the River Hawks back on top. 
 
After St. John's took a 6-5 lead into the sixth, the River Hawks rallied, scoring on a Rizzi double and Ratfliffe single to move back in front, 7-6. The lead would not hold however, as a two-out, two-run double by Peyton Cody gave St. John's an 8-7 win.
 
In the second game, the River Hawks again came out swinging, taking a 3-0 first inning lead. Ratcliffe, Maria Moccio (Feeding Hills, Mass.) and Cayla Tulley (Corona, Calif.) each picked up RBI. The Red Storm charged right back in the bottom half of the inning, as the five of the first six batters reached, knocking Kaylie See (Chino, Calif.) from the game. Ryley White (Wareham, Mass.) came on to escape the inning with UMass Lowell down, 4-3.
 
The River Hawks would knot the score at four, scoring on a wild pitch in the second, where the score would stay through three. In the fourth, UMass Lowell took the lead on a Ratcliffe single before adding an insurance run in the 7^th for the 6-4 final.
 
White (1-0) picked up the win with 6.2 innings of relief, allowing just two hits while striking out seven.
 
The River Hawks conclude their opening road trip with a double header at Fordham Sunday. Game One begins at 12 p.m.