LOWELL, Mass. – The offense came alive as the UMass Lowell baseball team (13-18, 6-7 AE) defeated the Hartford Hawks (4-23, 3-10 AE) in a 20-4 route on Friday night at LeLachuer Park.
 
"I thought we did a good job answering after they put up three runs in the second inning," said head coach Ken Harring. "We know our lineup can swing the bat. We struggled earlier in the week but getting those four runs in the second kind of relaxed everybody."
 
Sophomore Fritz Genther (Kingston, N.Y.) led the way with four hits on the night, adding in two RBIs and one run. Senior Robert Gallagher (Mullica Hill, N.J.) was all over the scoresheet, tallying three runs, three RBIs, and two hits in two at-bats. The senior added a stolen base and a walk. Junior Cedric Rose (Pittsfield, Mass.) extended his hit streak to 17 games, tallying three hits and four RBIs, including a three-run blast, his sixth home run of the year. Five River Hawks recorded three runs, while four batters tallied three hits each.
 
"It was good to get Brendan [Williams] and Zach [Fortuna] out there tonight and get those guys feeling good after tough outings midweek," said Harring. "Up and down the lineup, it was just a really good win for us."
 
On the mound, freshman LJ Keevan (Holden, Mass.) improved to 3-3 on the year, throwing 6.0 innings. The freshman struck out four and allowed three earned runs. Out of the bullpen, senior Matt Draper (Lowell, Mass.) and sophomores Zach Fortuna (Newburyport, Mass.) and Brendan Williams (Auburn, N.Y.) closed out the game for the River Hawks.
 
Keevan started the game with a 1-2-3 first inning, striking out two batters to retire the side. Rose extended his hit streak in the first, but the game moved to the second scoreless. The visitors got on the board in the second after two two-out doubles brought in three runs, giving the Hawks a 3-0 lead. Genther made a great defensive play to throw out the runner at first to end the inning.  
 
The River Hawks responded immediately in the bottom half of the inning. Gallagher was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in one run, getting the hosts on the board. Senior Gerry Siracusa (Kinnelon, N.J.) singled to center to bring in two more, tying the game. UMass Lowell took a 4-3 lead after an RBI double from Rose brought in Gallagher.
 
The lead would grow in the third inning when freshman Jacob Humphrey (Standish, ME.) singled to center to bring in another run. After a pitching change for the Hawks, Gallagher tripled down the right field line to bring in two runs, giving the hosts a 7-3 advantage. Gallagher would score on a throwing error, pushing the lead to five runs. Sophomore Roddy Hernandez (Jersey City, N.J.) then singled to right to score two more, pushing the lead to 10-3 after four.
 
Hartford got one back in the sixth, scoring on a double after Keevan had picked up two strikeouts to start the inning. The River Hawks offense continued to roll in the sixth, adding two more runs for a 12-4 lead. Matt Draper entered the game for Keevan in the seventh and retired the side in order. Keevan finished the game with four strikeouts in six innings. A sacrifice fly from Genther in the bottom of the seventh gave UMass Lowell a 13-4 lead.
 
Zach Fortuna took the mound in the eighth and retired the side in order in another strong inning for the River Hawks' bullpen. Rose hit his sixth home run of the season in the bottom of the eighth, crushing a three-run shot to left center to put UMass Lowell ahead 16-4. Hernandez's single to left brought in two more before freshman Alex Luccini (Hopedale, Mass.) doubled to center to score another, giving the hosts a 20-4 lead.
 
Brendan Williams came in for the ninth and closed the game, securing the win for the River Hawks. As a unit, UMass Lowell recorded season-highs in runs and hits in the victory. Game two of the weekend series is set for Saturday, April 16. First pitch is slated for 12:00 p.m. at LeLacheur Park.