UMass Lowell baseball is finally back as the 2022 season kicks off this weekend. Head Coach Ken Harring enters his 18th season at the helm of program, looking to lead the River Hawks back to the postseason and compete for an America East championship. 

The River Hawks return plenty of upperclassman leadership and welcome many talented newcomers to the 2022 roster. Graduate student Henry Funaro (Lowell, Mass.)  and senior Gerry Siracusa (Kinnelon, N.J.) are among the veteran core that Harring will rely on the guide the team to another successful season. 

Juniors Nick Marola (Scotia, N.Y.), Ryan Proto (Centerville, Mass.), and Brian Gaughan (Walpole, Mass.)  bring plenty of experience on the diamond and are primed to guide the class of newcomers this spring. The River Hawks welcome 20 new members to the team, including fourteen freshman and six transfers, including Virginia Tech transfer sophomore Fritz Genther (Kingston, N.Y.) and junior Trey Brown (Rochester, N.Y.). 

Nick Barese joins the team as an assistant coach after spending the last seven years at the helm of the Merrimack College baseball program. Barese brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to support Harring and former player and now assistant coach Joe Consolmagno. 

Brent Edmunds also joins the coaching staff as a volunteer coach. Edmunds’ experience as a pitching coach at Saint Anslem College is sure to prove beneficial to the UMass Lowell pitching core. 

The River Hawks will be on the road for the first five weeks of the season Following the opening weekend series with Tulane, UMass Lowell will head to North Carolina for a series against North Carolina A&T State University. Then, a trip to Winston-Salem, NC for three games at Wake Forest against the hosts and Central Michigan. After a two-day series at Duke, the River Hawks finish their southern swing with three games at the College of Charleston. 

Conference play kicks off March 18 as UMass Lowell will visit Stony Brook for a three-series of America East action. The long-awaited return to Lowell comes on March 25-27, when the Binghamton Bearcats visit the Mill City for a weekend series at Lelacheur Park.