LOWELL, Mass. – It was a wild day at LeLacheur Park as the UMass Lowell baseball team (21-25, 11-13 AE) defeated the Maine Black Bears (24-16, 19-5 AE) in a 5-4 extra-inning thriller. The River Hawks win the weekend series with back-to-back victories and claim another America East Conference series win.
 
"I thought [Matt] Draper showed who he is after giving up the home run in the ninth. He got to work and got the job done for us," said head coach Ken Harring. "I thought [Ryan] Towle was fantastic, [Brendan] Williams was great. Our pitching was huge for us today. 
 
On the mound, graduate student Ryan Towle (Westfield, Mass.) got the start and threw 5.2 innings, striking out six and allowed three earned runs. Sophomore Brendan Williams (Auburn, N.Y.) threw 1.2 innings and allowed one hit. Senior Matt Draper (Lowell, Mass.) took the mound for 2.2 innings, allowing one earned run and getting the win to improve to 2-4 on the season.
 
"Our offense kept tacking on one run at a time and Brandon Fish's long at bat and then the double, that was huge for us," added Harring. "The defensive plays by Cedric Rose and the big hit from Gerry [Siracusa[ at the end, it was an all-around team effort today."
 
Freshman Brandon Fish (Londonderry, N.H.) led the way with three hits and two RBIs in five plate appearances for UMass Lowell. Fellow freshman Alex Luccini (Hopedale, Mass.) added two hits and two runs, including the winning run in the tenth inning. Freshman Jacob Humphrey (Standish, ME.) and senior Robert Gallagher (Mullica Hill, N.J.) each added two stolen bases on the afternoon. Senior Gerry Siracusa (Kinnelon, N.J.) brought in the winning run in the tenth for the second time in two weeks.
 
Ryan Towle got the start on the mound for the River Hawks and struck out two in the opening frame. The Black Bears got on the board with a two-out double, putting the visitors ahead 1-0 before Towle ended the inning with his third strikeout of the day. UMass Lowell answered in the bottom half of the inning with back-to-back walks putting two runners on with one out. Brandon Fish battled in an extended at bat before hitting a double into left center to score Robert Gallagher, tying the game. Towle picked up his fourth strikeout in a 1-2-3 second inning before the River Hawks took a 2-1 lead on a wild pitch.
 
In the third, Towle threw another scoreless inning, picking up his fifth strikeout of the day. Gallagher was hit by a pitch to open the bottom of the third before stealing second. Gerry Siracusa was also hit by a pitch, putting two runners on with no outs. Brandon Fish singled through the right side to score Gallagher, giving the River Hawks a 3-1 lead with runners on the corners. UMass Lowell stranded two runners but held a two-run advantage after three.
 
Maine got the bats going in the fourth after a leadoff walk. An RBI double from Jenkins scored one to make it a 3-2 game and put runners on second and third. The Black Bears tied the game at 3-3 with a ground out to second before Towle struck out one and forced a fly out to end the inning. Alex Luccini singled to left field before Jacob Humphrey's single to right moved Luccini to third. Humphrey stole second and Robert Gallagher was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Gerry Siracusa. The senior hit an RBI ground out to put the River Hawks back in front 4-3 heading into the fifth.
 
After a scoreless fifth, Ryan Towle returned to the mound for the River Hawks and forced two quick outs before walking back-to-back hitters. Brendan Williams took over for Towle and forced a fly out to end the inning. Humphrey tallied another stolen base in the bottom half of the fifth, but the score remained 4-3. Junior Cedric Rose (Pittsfield, Mass.) made a great defensive play to record the final out of the eighth with two runners on, keeping the River Hawks ahead by one. The hosts could not take advantage of a runner on second and the game went to the ninth with UMass Lowell leading by one.
 
After a leadoff double for the Black Bears, Cedric Rose made an incredible catch on a pop-up bunt and threw out Schulefand at second for the double play. McDaniel hit a solo shot to left with two outs to tie the game, sending the game into the bottom of the ninth even at four. With two out, Genther singled to left center to move Rose to third, but the River Hawks could not take advantage and the game moved to extra innings.
 
The River Hawks escaped the top of the tenth with runners on the corners, giving them a chance to win the game once again. Alex Luccini hit a leadoff double to right field to get things going in the bottom of the tenth. Robert Gallagher was intentionally walked to put two runners on for Gerry Siracusa. The senior hit a walk-off single to left field to score Luccini, giving the River Hawks the 5-4 win in the game and a 2-1 win in the weekend series.
 
UMass Lowell returns to action next weekend when they travel to Connecticut to take on the Hartford Hawks for a weekend series.