COLUMBIA, SC – The UMass Lowell baseball team (0-1, 0-0 AE) fell to the #23 South Carolina Gamecocks (1-0, 0-0 SEC) by a score of 20-3 on Friday night at Founders Park.
 
"Obviously not the way we wanted to start the season. There was a hitter's wind, and they certainly took advantage of that," said head coach Ken Harring. "We will bounce back and compete tomorrow."
 
Sophomore Conor Kelly (Hopkinton, Mass.) tallied one hit and one run while graduate student Gerry Siracusa (Kinnelon, N.J.) and seniors Ryan Proto (Centerville, Mass.) and Trey Brown (Rochester, N.Y.) all added in one hit apiece. Brown led the team with two RBIs, while Siracusa had one. Both Kelly and Siracusa doubled in the season opener.
 
Sophomore LJ Keevan (Holden, Mass.)  got the start for the River Hawks on Opening Day and threw 3.1 innings with two strikeouts and 10 earned runs. Senior Miles Cota (Hampstead, N.C.) made his first appearance since the 2021 season after returning from injury and recorded one strikeout. Graduate student Shane Bogli (Vernon, Conn.) made his UMass Lowell debut on the mound in the seventh.
 
After a scoreless first inning, senior Frank Wayman (Horseheads, N.Y.) was hit by a pitch to put the River Hawks' first runner on base. Ryan Proto singled to left and Conor Kelly drew a walk to load the bases for Trey Brown. The senior singled to score Wayman and give UMass Lowell an early 1-0 lead. South Carolina responded in the bottom of the inning, after a leadoff triple and sacrifice fly tied the game. A solo home run gave the hosts the 2-1 lead before Keevan recorded his first strikeout of the season to end the inning. The Gamecocks added three runs in the third to extend the lead.
 
South Carolina's Will Sanders threw back-to-back 1-2-3 innings to keep the River Hawks off the board. The Gamecocks offense got going in the fourth and fifth innings, scoring six runs to stretch the lead to 11-2 entering the sixth. The River Hawks were retired in order in the top of the sixth while South Carolina's offense added seven runs.
 
UMass Lowell could not find an offensive rhythm in the top of the eighth as the River Hawks were retired in order. Senior Frankie Venezia (Lyndhurst, N.J.) made his season debut in the eighth inning. The Gamecocks added two runs in the eighth, pushing the lead to 20-3. The River Hawks went down in order to end the game.
 
Game two between the River Hawks and Gamecocks is set for 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 18 at Founders Park.