ORONO, ME. – The UMass Lowell baseball team (27-29, 15-15 AE) fell to the Binghamton Bearcats 8-5 on Friday afternoon. The River Hawks will play the winner of #1 Maine vs. #3 NJIT at 6:00 p.m. Friday night for a chance to reach the championship.
 
"Obviously, a tough loss. We didn't get the time we hit when we had opportunities and they did," said head coach Ken Harring. "We didn't get a shutdown inning after we scored. I expect our guys to come out fighting tonight to get to the next day. That's what we've done all season."
 
Senior Gerry Siracusa (Kinnelon, N.J.), junior Ryan Proto (Centerville, Mass.) and junior Frank Wayman (Horseheads, N.Y.) each tallied two hits against the Bearcats. Sophomore Jimmy Sullivan (East Hampton, Conn.) drove in a team-high two runs. Ryan Proto led the team with two runs.
 
Freshman Brendan Holland (North Andover, Mass.) got the start and threw 4.1 innings and struck out three. Sophomore Zach Fortuna (Newburyport, Mass.) and senior Sal Fusco (Colonie, N.Y.) saw time on the mound with Fusco striking out one. Senior Joshua Becker (Burlington, Mass.) threw 2.2 innings and struck out one.
 
The River Hawks went down in order in the first and turned yet another double play in the bottom of the first to end the inning. Ryan Proto hit a leadoff double in the second inning before Jimmy Sullivan's RBI single to left scored the junior, putting the River Hawks ahead 1-0 early. The Bearcats tied it up on their third double of the day with one out in the bottom of the second. Holland picked up a strikeout as the inning ended with score tied at one.
 
Sophomore Fritz Genther (Kingston, N.Y.) hit a solo shot in the third inning to put the River Hawks back in front 2-1. Despite Siracusa reaching third, the senior was left stranded, and the UMass Lowell defense returned to the field. A one-out solo shot from Haskell tied the game at two before Ryan Proto gunned down a runner trying to steal second and Frank Wayman made a great effort to catch a foul ball in the UMass Lowell dugout to end the inning.
 
Wayman drilled a one-out double to left center in the fourth, but the River Hawks left three runners stranded as the inning ended with the game tied. Holland picked up another strikeout in a 1-2-3 fourth inning to keep the game tied. Gerry Siracusa's leadoff single put a runner on for the River Hawks. The senior was advanced to third on a groundout and fly out before an error by the Binghamton shortstop allowed the run to come in and give UMass Lowell a 3-2 lead.
 
With two on and one out in the bottom of the fifth, Zach Fortuna took over on the mound for the River Hawks. After a walk to load the bases, the Bearcats tied the game once again with a sacrifice fly to center. Sal Fusco then came into the game with two on and two out and the game tied at three. The senior walked Reilly to load the bases before striking out Bade to end the inning.
 
Binghamton took a 4-3 lead with a bases loaded walk in the sixth inning. Joshua Becker entered the game in relief of Fusco with the bases loaded and one out. A fielder's choice gave the Bearcats a 5-3 lead before a pop up ended the inning.
 
The River Hawks responded in the seventh as Brandan Fish hit a leadoff single before advancing to third on a double to left field from Ryan Proto. Jimmy Sullivan's sacrifice fly scored Fish to make it 5-4. Roddy Hernandez hit a two-out infield single to score Proto and tie the game at five. The River Hawks had the bases loaded but left three runners stranded. The Bearcats took a 7-5 lead in the bottom of the seventh with a one-out RBI single and a sacrifice bunt.
 
Gerry Siracusa's leadoff double in the eighth got things started for UMass Lowell. The senior advanced to third on a ground out but was left stranded. A solo home run in the eighth gave Binghamton an 8-5 lead as the game headed to the ninth. The River Hawks could not come back and fell to the Bearcats. UMass Lowell will play again at 6:00 p.m. against the winner of #1 Maine vs. #3 NJIT.