LOWELL, Mass. – Four and one-half innings of competition were played between the UMass Lowell softball team (18-11, 3-0 AE) and Binghamton, before play was suspended Saturday afternoon.
 
The River Hawks took a 5-0 advantage and were set to begin their fifth inning plate appearances, when rain began to fall heavily on River View Field. With showers forecasted to continue throughout the afternoon, coaches and officials determined postponing the game would be the best decision. The same game will resume at the beginning of the bottom of the fifth inning on Sunday, April 9, at 12 p.m., followed by a game two shortly after its conclusion.
 
Saturday's matchup began as a pitching duel between the two squads, with no runs on the scoreboard entering the fourth inning. Junior Ryley White (Wareham, Mass.) put on another great performance from the circle, having struck out nine hitters.
 
In the home half of the fourth frame, three walks drawn by the River Hawks loaded the bases with two outs in the inning. Head Coach Jen Starek made the call to bring in freshman Emily Tow (North Kingstown, R.I.) to pinch hit. With two strikes against her, she smacked a deep fly ball to right center field that cleared the fences for a grand slam.
 
Feasting off the momentum, the next batter Olivia Labbe (Rochester, Mass.) hit a solo home run of her own to nearly the same location, extending the River Hawk lead to 5-0.
 
As the page turned, White sat down another pair of hitters on strikes to bring her total to 11, before the game was called.