MERION STATION, Penn. – The UMass Lowell baseball team (2-10, 0-0 AE) fell to Saint Joseph's (2-6, 0-0 A10) 4-3 in game one of the weekend series.
 
Graduate student Gerry Siracusa (Kinnelon, N.J.) tallied two hits to lead the team and added one run. Junior Fritz Genther (Kingston, N.Y.) and sophomore Conor Kelly (Hopkinton, Mass.) each recorded an RBI. Sophomore Jacob Humphrey (Standish, ME.) also tallied a hit on his first homerun of the year.
 
Sophomore LJ Keevan (Holden, Mass.) went 5.2 innings with seven strikeouts and three earned runs, falling to 0-4 this season. Freshman Michael Simes (Rutland, Mass.) went 2.1 innings, allowing two hits and picking up one strikeout.
 
"Obviously, it was a really good baseball game today. The difference in the game was they didn't walk anybody, and they struck out 17 of us," said head coach Ken Harring. "LJ [Keevan} pitched a phenomenal game but was a victim of two mistakes in the sixth. It was really nice to see him back into last season's form and hopefully that's a launching point for him for the remainder of the season."
 
Game one between the River Hawks and Hawks was a pitcher's duel from the first pitch. LJ Keevan and Will McCausland both had strong outings on the mound, collecting strikeouts almost every inning. The offenses struggled to get going with both pitchers throwing well, but Frank Wayman's two-out double in the second inning got things rolling for UMass Lowell. Conor Kelly singled to center to score Wayman and out the visitors in front early.  
 
After a scoreless third, Brandon Fish and Ryan Proto picked up hits in the fourth, but the River Hawks could not add to their advantage. LJ Keevan fanned two hitters in the bottom of the fourth to retire the side, allowing just one hit through four innings.
 
Gerry Siracusa opened the sixth with a leadoff double and would eventually score after an RBI fly out from Fritz Genther. The Hawks took a 3-2 lead in the bottom half of the inning behind a two-out, three-run homerun from Nate Thomas. Michael Simes came in relief of Keevan in the sixth before Saint Joseph's extended the lead to 4-2 heading into the seventh.
 
The UMass Lowell offense struggled to string together hits late in the game. Ryan Proto caught the hosts stealing to end the seventh and send the game to the eighth with the River Hawks trailing by two. Jacob Humphrey's leadoff solo homerun in the top half of the inning made it a one-run game before Simes ended a scoreless bottom half with a strikeout.
 
The River Hawks went down in order in the ninth and fell in game one. Game two is set for 1:00 p.m. at Smithson Field on Saturday, March 11.