NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The UMass Lowell softball team (15-11) defended its rank as the top fielding core in America East, as the squad recorded two shutouts in its midweek doubleheader against rival Merrimack.
Quality pitching performances by juniors
Ryley White (Wareham, Mass.) and
Chelsea Runyon (Scripps Ranch, Calif.), backed up by sound defending, allowed the River Hawks to shut out the opposition, 5-0 and 2-0.
The duo of starting pitchers sat down a combined 10 batters on strikes. Graduate student
Maria Moccio had an effective day at the plate, racking up three RBI in the first matchup of the day.
In game one, UMass Lowell took advantage of a lead-off double by
Elizabeth Frederick (Sunapee, N.H.) to open the third frame. Center fielder
Olivia Labbe continued to feed off her successes from last week, driving in her teammate with a single to go up, 1-0.
In the River Hawks return to the dish, freshman
Emily Tow (North Kingstown, R.I.) and Moccio each recorded an RBI to tally another pair of scores for the squad.
Moccio would come to bat again in the late innings and convert in a big way. A waist high pitch was driven deep to right field and had enough power to clear the wall for a two-run homer, strengthening the UMass Lowell lead to 5-0.
Through the start of the second end of the twin bill, both offenses struggled to get baserunners. By the end of the second inning, Runyon had already racked up three strikeouts.
The Warriors had an opportunity to get on the scoreboard with two runners on the base paths in the home half of the fourth. Another strikeout by Runyon and a flyout to center sat down the last two batters, letting the River Hawks escape unscathed.
UMass Lowell used the momentum and got on the board in its next turn at the plate. Sophomore
Morgan Fisher (Glassboro, N.J.) sent a ball soaring over the center field fence for a solo home run to break open the scoreless stalemate.
An inning later in the top of the sixth, junior
Brenna Davenport (Merrimack, N.H.) connected for a base knock to bring in an insurance run and push the advantage to 2-0.
Despite efforts to get runners on base, the Warriors could not crack the River Hawk defense and UMass Lowell claimed the Wednesday sweep.
The squad will begin America East play with their home opener against Hartford in a Saturday doubleheader, with game one set to begin at 1 p.m. at River View Field.
