LOWELL, Mass. – A career high of 16 strikeouts by junior
Ryley White (Wareham, Mass.) of the UMass Lowell softball team (19-12, 4-1 America East) pushed the squad onto win its first of two games against Binghamton on Sunday. The performance ties an all-time program record set by Sarah Gagnon on April 30, 2000, at Bridgeport.
The series opening tilt, which previously began on Saturday, ended in a 5-0 victory for the River Hawks, with White sitting down hitter after hitter. The Bearcats fought their way to clinch game two, 2-1, though, in ten innings of action.
A grand slam by freshman
Emily Tow (North Kingstown, R.I.) followed by a solo home run by graduate student
Olivia Labbe (Rochester, Mass.) were enough to seal the River Hawk win. The second end of the twin bill proved more defensive. Junior
Chelsea Runyon (Scripps Ranch, Calif.) earned the start and struck out seven hitters in six innings before White came in as a reliever.
The River Hawks resumed play with their 5-0 advantage in the bottom of the fifth inning to start Sunday's action. While the Bearcats were able to get runners aboard with a pair of singles, White continued where she left off from a day prior and sat down five hitters in the final innings to seal the win.
Binghamton got on the board in the opening frame of the second matchup, but a double play and heads up fielding by senior
Tori Mueller (Clovis, Calif.) kept the damage to just a single run.
The River Hawks attempted to generate a response by getting a runner to third in both the first and second innings, but were unable to bring them home to score.
In the fifth frame, UMass Lowell threatened and finally was able to draw even, 1-1, when Tow came safely home on a wild pitch.
The defense controlled the later innings, as the game remained tied. Extra innings yielded the same results until the tenth. The Bearcats maneuvered a runner to third base and were successful at driving her in with an RBI single into right field. The River Hawks were not able to retaliate in their final at-bat and fell, 2-1.
UMass Lowell will continue America East action when the team visits Maine for a midweek doubleheader on Wednesday, April 13, with play set to begin at 1 p.m.
