LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell baseball team (7-14, 2-4 AE) will travel to Union, N.J. to take on the NJIT Highlanders (10-10, 5-1 AE) for a weekend series. The three-game series will be held at Jim Hynes Stadium at Kean University.
 
Series Info
 
Friday, April 1 at NJIT (6 p.m.)
 
Jim Hynes Stadium (Union, N.J.)
 
Watch | Live Stats
 
Probable Starters: Keevan (LHP) vs. Fischer (RHP)
 
 
Saturday, April 2 at NJIT (1 p.m.)
 
Jim Hynes Stadium (Union, N.J.)
 
Watch | Live Stats
 
Probable Starters: TBD vs. Vurpillat (LHP)
 
 
Sunday, April 3 at NJIT (2 p.m.)
 
Jim Hynes Stadium (Union, N.J.)
 
Watch | Live Stats
 
Probable Starters: TBD vs. TBD
 
SERIES HISTORY
 
First Meeting: March 18, 2005 (UML, 12-0)
Last Meeting: April 3, 2021 (NJIT, 9-5)
 
The River Hawks are 2-3 all-time against the Highlanders. The first time these teams met was at the Division II level, where the River Hawks came away with a 12-0 victory. All four meetings between the teams at the Division I level were played on April 2 and 3 of the 2021 season. UMass Lowell claimed an 8-1 victory in the first meeting, but NJIT then won the next three meetings.
 
LOOKING AT UMASS LOWELL
 
The River Hawks enter the weekend after a 3-1 record last week. UMass Lowell knocked off Holy Cross 17-3 on the road on Wednesday night before hosting the Binghamton Bearcats for a weekend series. The visitors took Friday's game 4-0 before the River Hawks claimed 4-3 and 4-1 victories on Saturday and Sunday to win the series 2-1. This weekend will be the second road conference series and the third overall conference matchup of the season. Senior Robert Gallagher (Mullica Hill, N.J.) leads the team batting .370 on the year with 15 runs, 27 hits, and 17 RBIs. Senior Gerry Siracusa (Kinnelon, N.J.) leads the team with 29 hits and 21 runs on the year and is hitting at a .337 clip. Freshmen Jacob Humphrey (Standish, ME.) and Brandon Fish (Londonderry, N.H.) have produced plenty of offense for the River Hawks in their rookie campaigns, combining for 26 runs and 42 hits, batting .310 and .244, respectively. Humphrey was named the America East Rookie of the Week on Tuesday afternoon, his first career weekly award.
 
ON THE MOUND
 
Freshman LJ Keevan (Holden, Mass.) continues to impress in his rookie campaign and will make his fifth start of the season on Friday night. The freshman is 2-2 and has 25 strikeouts in 23.0 innings and 4.24 ERA.  Graduate student Ryan Towle (Westfield, Mass.) leads the team with 38 strikeouts in 28.1 innings this season. Sophomore Brendan Williams (Auburn, N.Y.) has been an important part of the pitching core this season. The sophomore has 1-0 record and made nine appearance this season. Williams has a 5.28 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 15.1 innings. Senior Joshua Becker (Burlington, Mass.) has found a rhythm of late and has a 2-3 record this season. The senior has struck out 25 hitters in 31.2 innings with a 5.68 ERA.
 
SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS
 
The Highlanders welcome UMass Lowell after going 3-1 in their last four games. NJIT swept UAlbany over the weekend before falling to Rutgers on Tuesday afternoon. The Highlanders are 5-1 in conference play with wins over UAlbany and Hartford. David Marcano leads the team hitting .373 on the year with 31 hits, 20 runs, and 16 RBIs. Jared Donnelly and Julio Marcano have tallied 20 hits apiece through 20 games this season. On the mound, Ryan Fischer leads the team with 43 strikeouts. Grant Vurpillat and Evan Gegeckas have struck out 30 and 23 hitters, respectively. NJIT leads the conference with a team ERA of 5.53.  
 
STOLEN GOODS
 
As a unit, the River Hawks have stolen 45 bases on 52 attempts this season. Robert Gallagher has 18 stolen bases on the year in 18 attempts. Jacob Humphrey is 11-11 on stolen base attempts in his rookie campaign. Sophomore Fritz Genther (Kingston, N.Y.) is 6-8 in stolen base attempts and Gerry Siracusa is 6-7 on the year.
 
A-OKKKKKK
 
Ryan Towle leads the pitching core with 38 strikeouts on the year. LJ Keevan and Joshua Becker have each struck out 25 hitters while sophomore Brendan Williams has sat 15 batters this season. Sophomore Michael Quigley (Halifax, Mass.) has struck out thirteen. Nine other River Hawks have recorded at least one strikeout this year for UMass Lowell. 
 
GOING YARD
 
UMass Lowell has hit a collective 18 home runs through 21 games in the 2022 campaign. Gallagher and Siracusa are tied for the team lead in with four homers each. Brandon Fish and juniors Cedric Rose (Pittsfield, Mass.) and Ryan Proto (Centerville, Mass.) have each sent three over the fences.