LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell baseball team (9-16, 3-6 AE) cruised to a 14-2 victory over the Dartmouth Big Green (10-12, 3-3 Ivy) on Tuesday afternoon at LeLacheur Park.
 
"We had a plan with what we wanted to do today and Brendan [Holland] is a winner. He's going to continue to better every day," said head coach Ken Harring. "The guys are starting to figure out their roles and they're all competing out there for us. There's really not much drop-off when it comes to making lineup changes."
 
Senior Gerry Siracusa (Kinnelon, N.J.) led the team with four RBIs, adding in two runs, two hits, and two stolen bases. Freshman Jacob Humphrey (Standish, ME.) added two runs, two hits, and two RBIs to go with a stolen base. Senior Matt DeBenedetto (North Reading, Mass.) hit his first career home run in the eighth inning, a big moment for the walk-on catcher. Eight other River Hawks recorded a hit in the win.
 
"Matt [DeBenedetto], like I said, there's not a better teammate. All the years I've been coaching, he's the greatest teammate I've coached. He came in here, walked-on and earned his spot on the team. He travels on every trip, and he works his tail off. He's the epitome of an unbelievable human being. His goal this year was to get one Division I hit, and he certainly did that tonight, with a bang. That ball was smashed, and I couldn't be happier for him."
 
On the mound, freshman Brendan Holland (North Andover, Mass.) improved to 2-1 on the season, throwing 5.0 innings. The freshman struck out one and allowed just four hits and one earned run. Senior Sal Fusco (Colonie, N.Y.) and freshman Drew Haight (Duxbury, Mass.) also saw time on the mound, striking out two hitters each.
 
The Big Green opened the scoring in the first inning as a single to center brought in a run for a 1-0 lead. UMass Lowell responded in the bottom half of the inning as senior Robert Gallagher (Mullica Hill, N.J.) doubled to center to bring in Humphrey to tie the game. Siracusa's single to center brought in Gallagher as the River Hawks took the lead. Siracusa then stole second and third before coming in to score, putting the hosts ahead 3-1 after one.
 
Junior Ryan Proto (Centerville, Mass.) kicked off the second inning with a single to left center. Another single from Humphrey brought in Proto as the River Hawks extended the lead to 4-1. Singles from freshman Brandon Fish (Londonderry, N.H.) and junior Cedric Rose (Pittsfield, Mass.) scored three more runs to close out a four-run, five-hit inning for UMass Lowell.
 
After giving up one run in the first, Brendan Holland pitched four straight scoreless innings. The freshman picked up his first strikeout of the afternoon in the fourth to end the inning. Gallagher was hit by a pitch to start the bottom of the fourth before stealing second and third and scoring on a wild pitch to push the lead to 8-1.
 
The River Hawks offense continued to roll, as freshman Jake Fitzgibbons (Franklin, Mass.) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, making it 9-1 to the hosts. Humphrey's sacrifice fly scored sophomore Fritz Genther (Kingston, N.Y.) before Siracusa hit his fifth home run of the season, a three-run shot to stretch the lead to 13-1.
 
Matt DeBenedetto made his first appearance of the season in the bottom of the eighth, pinch-hitting for Brandon Fish. The senior crushed a ball over the left field scoreboard for his first career home run and put UMass Lowell ahead 14-1. Dartmouth hit a solo home run in the ninth to make it 14-2, but Drew Haight closed out the game and secured the win for the River Hawks.