COLUMBIA, SC – Despite a strong start, the UMass Lowell baseball team (0-2, 0-0 AE) fell 17-1 to the South Carolina Gamecocks (2-0, 0-0 SEC) on Saturday afternoon in Columbia.
"Another tough day after a good start in the first. [Brian] Foley got out of a big jam and kept us in it. [Noah] Hall settled down and their bullpen was very tough," said head coach
Ken Harring. "The bright spot for us was [Michael] Simes and his three scoreless innings. It just goes to show that when you get ahead of hitters, good things happen. These games will make us better in May."
Senior
Robert Gallagher (Mullica Hill, N.J.) tallied one hit and scored one run while graduate student
Gerry Siracusa (Kinnelon, N.J.) tallied one hit and one RBI on the afternoon. Junior
Roddy Hernandez (Jersey City, N.J.) drew a walk in his first at-bat of the season.
Freshman
Brian Foley (Milton, Mass.) made his first collegiate start for the River Hawks throwing 3.0 innings with five strikeouts and eight hits allowed. Fellow freshman
Michael Simes (Rutland, Mass.) also made his collegiate debut, going 4.0 innings and striking out three. Simes allowed just one walk and two hits. Sophomore
Hayden Duke (Mattapoisett, Mass.) threw 1.0 inning and struck out one.
The River Hawks got off to a fast start as Gallagher's base hit with one out got a runner on early. After stealing second, Gallagher advanced to third on a wild pitch, putting the runner in great scoring position. Siracusa doubled to left center to score Gallagher and put UMass Lowell ahead 1-0 in the first. South Carolina answered with two in the bottom half of the inning to take a 2-1 lead. Foley struck out three batters in the first.
South Carolina's Noah Hall went 5.1 innings and kept UMass Lowell off the board. Hall's pitching allowed the Gamecocks to extend the lead in the bottom half of the inning, scoring five runs. Foley struck out two more, bringing his game total five. Defensive errors in the third and an explosive fifth allowed South Carolina to push the lead to 17-1 after five.
Michael Simes entered the game in relief of Duke in the fifth inning and retired three straight hitters to escape the inning. The rookie threw three scoreless innings and picked up his third strikeout in the bottom of the seventh. UMass Lowell's offense struggled to get going and ultimately fell 17-1 in game two.
The series wraps up on Sunday afternoon at Founders Park. First pitch is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. in Columbia.
