STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The UMass Lowell baseball team (4-13, 0-3 AE) fell in extra innings for the second straight game against the Stony Brook Seawolves (7-11, 3-0 AE) on Sunday afternoon. The Seawolves win the weekend series 3-0.
"It was a hard-fought series," said head coach
Ken Harring. "We just aren't doing enough of the little things right to win these close games. But we have 27 conference games left. It's a marathon, not a sprint."
Senior
Gerry Siracusa (Kinnelon, N.J.) led the team with three runs and two hits. He added an RBI and a stolen base. Fellow senior
Robert Gallagher (Mullica Hill, N.J.) scored two runs and stole three bases. Five River Hawks tallied two hits in Sunday's loss.
On the mound, senior
Joshua Becker (Burlington, Mass.) pitched 6.0 innings, striking out eight batters and allowing three earned runs. Sophomore
Michael Quigley (Halifax, Mass.) threw 1.1 innings, sitting three hitters and allowing one earned run.
The River Hawks jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning as Siracusa's double scored Gallagher. Junior
Cedric Rose's (Pittsfield, Mass.) sacrifice fly brought Siracusa in for a 2-0 lead. The hosts answered with a solo home run and a single to tie the game in the first.
Stony Brook took a 3-2 lead in the second before a two-run home run from freshman
Brandon Fish (Londonderry, N.H.) gave the River Hawks the lead once again. The Seawolves continued to battle back, tying the game 4-4 in the third.
UMass Lowell extended the lead over the next three innings, regaining the advantage in the fourth on a sacrifice fly from freshman
Alex Luccini (Hopedale, Mass.). The lead would stretch to three runs in the seventh when Rose singled up the middle to bring in two runs and give the River Hawks a 7-4 edge.
Stony Brook was resilient once again, cutting the lead to 7-6 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Sophomore
Fritz Genther (Kingston, N.Y.) put UMass Lowell ahead 8-6 in the top of the eighth with a single to score Gallagher. Another single from Fish in the top of the ninth gave the visitors a 9-6 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.
A one out, two-run home run made it a one-run game before a solo home run tied the game at 9-9, forcing extra innings for the second consecutive game. With the bases loaded, two outs, and a full count, Evan Giordano was walked to give Stony Brook the 10-9 victory and a 3-0 series sweep.
The River Hawks return to action on Wednesday, March 23 at Holy Cross. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Worcester.