NORFOLK, Va. – Senior Ryley White (Wareham, Mass.) tallied a whopping 16 strikeouts while allowing just two hits, as the UMass Lowell softball team (1-4) shut out Norfolk State (3-2) by a score of 2-0 in 10 innings Thursday night in Norfolk, Va. The game marked the first of the Hampton-Norfolk State Invitational.

"Ryley was amazing," said Head Coach Jen Starek. "She was throwing gas all night and had great control." 

Offense was hard to come by throughout the game, but senior Cayla Tulley (Corona, Calif.) and junior Morgan Fisher (Glassboro, N.J.) each drove in a run in the top of the 10th inning to take the lead, and it proved to be the difference. Junior Elizabeth Frederick (Sunapee, N.H.) also produced for the River Hawk offense, finishing 2-for-5 as the only multi-hit player of the game.  

It was a quiet first two innings for both teams offensively, as there were no hits and just two base runners for the River Hawks due to walks from graduate student Tori Mueller (Clovis, Calif.) and sophomore Darlene Gutierrez (Colton, Calif.). The Spartans were the first to get a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the second inning, after Leah Wisswell stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch after a leadoff walk. White proceeded to force a groundout to finish off the inning.  

The first hit of the game was off the bat of Fisher in the fourth inning, as she cracked a single up the middle, but she was unable to cross the plate. After more effective pitching from both sides, the best opportunity of the night came in the top of the seventh inning when Frederick hit a one-out single up the middle, followed by a Gutierrez single down the right field line to keep the momentum going. Norfolk State pitcher Alexis Robinson was able to escape the inning, sending the game to the bottom of the seventh where White shut down the Spartan lineup.  

Norfolk State escaped a scare yet again from the River Hawks in the eighth before White struck out the side in the bottom half to keep her successful night going. 

In the top of the 10th inning, Mueller slapped a leadoff single to third base and Mya Case followed that up with a bunt single to put runners on first and second with no outs. Just two batters later, Tulley came to the plate and smashed an RBI single to right center to put the River Hawks on the board. Fisher's sacrifice fly in the next at-bat gave the River Hawks a two-run cushion before White secured the victory for the River Hawks in the bottom half.

"We finally woke the bats up when it really mattered and ground out some good at-bats to push the runs across," said Starek.  

With the threat of inclement weather in Virginia, Friday's scheduled doubleheader with Wagner and Lehigh has been canceled, but the River Hawks will return to action on Saturday, February 18 with a pair of games against Lehigh and Hampton at 1 and 3 PM.