AUBURN, Ala. – Thanks to a pair of dominant pitching performances by junior Ryley White (Wareham, Mass,) and sophomore Chelsea Runyon (Scripps Ranch, Calif.), the UMass Lowell softball team (2-0) opened the 2022 season with a pair of wins against Seton Hall and St. John's on day one of the Tiger Invitational hosted by Auburn.

The River Hawks first defeated the Pirates, 6-2, before sweeping the day with a 4-0 shutout victory against the Red Storm.
 
"It was a fun experience and a great day today," Head Coach Jen Starek said after earning her first wins at the helm of the program. "It was awesome to see the kids go out and compete as hard as they did. They really put together a lot of things that we'd been working on, and it was just awesome to be outside and get two wins right away."

The duo of White and Runyon combined for 17 strikeouts on the day, with Runyon ringing up 11 St. John's batters. Accompanying them with offensive support was sophomore Becca Vaillancourt (Tiverton, R.I.), who went 2-for-6 at the plate and drove in three runs for the River Hawks. White also had success at the plate, hitting .500 (2-4) with a pair of runs. 

Against Seton Hall, UMass Lowell wasted no time getting on the board, plating two runs in the opening frame. Vaillancourt singled through the right side to get the River Hawks on the board right away. The effort was replicated in the next at-bat by White, who slapped a hit into right field to score graduate student Olivia Labbe (Rochester, Mass.).
 
The Pirates took advantage of two UMass Lowell throwing miscues to cut into the difference in the home half of the inning. The one-run differential would hold for the next three frames, as the pitchers settled in and began to take command of the circle.
 
The tension would not be cut until the fifth inning when the River Hawks stretched their lead to 4-1. Graduate student Maria Moccio (Feeding Hills, Mass.) singled into right field to enable Labbe to score from second base after advancing on a previous ground out. Freshman Emily Tow (North Kingstown, R.I.) would come in to pinch run for Moccio upon reaching second base via a Vaillancourt walk. White once again stood in and sent a shot up the gut and into center field, enabling Tow to make the turn and cross the plate.
 
An inning later, a costly Pirates' throwing error made for an easy opportunity for UMass Lowell to score insurance runs. A ground ball to second base by junior Cayla Tulley (Corona, Calif.) was thrown away, allowing two River Hawks base runners to sprint through home and extend the lead further.
 
A last-ditch, three-hit effort in the final frame by Seton Hall was enough to score one final run, but UMass Lowell closed out to get their first win of the season.
 
In their second matchup of the day against St. John's, UMass Lowell demonstrated early command in the field, and it continued throughout the afternoon. While the Red Storm would get a runner aboard early in the inning, tight defending and effective pitching by Runyon held the opponents to limited success batting.
 
Crafty approaches when reading pitches and running the bases by sophomore Elizabeth Frederick (Sunapee, N.H.), forced a walk and led to a stolen base. Eventually advancing to third, Vaillancourt hit a bloop single into right field that just stayed fair, giving Frederick the chance to cross home and put UMass Lowell out front. Three batters later with the bases loaded, a deep sacrifice fly by sophomore Morgan Fisher (Glassboro, N.J.) gave Vaillancourt the green light to run home and put the River Hawks up 2-0 in the bottom of the third.
 
Vaillancourt again showed her promise as a hitter her next turn at the plate, hitting a sacrifice grounder to second base and giving the runner ample time to add onto the UMass Lowell lead.
 
Runyon's pitching continued to hold the Red Storm at bay, with St. John's only recording three total hits. A final fielder's choice decision in the River Hawks' last trip to the plate put them up 4-0 and stand as the final score.
 
The River Hawks play both teams once more tomorrow, competing against St. John's at 9:30 a.m. and Seton Hall at 12:30 p.m. for day two of the Tiger Invitational.