NEWARK, DE – The UMass Lowell baseball team (2-14, 0-0 AE) fell in game two of the weekend series at Delaware (7-10, 2-1 CAA), 3-2. The Hens take the series ahead of the finale on Sunday afternoon.
 
"We need to do the little things well for all nine innings. [Matt] Draper pitched great, we didn't score enough runs," said head coach Ken Harring. "We have had trouble stringing hits together which allows teams to score more runs."
 
Sophomore Alex Luccini (Hopedale, Mass.) led the team with three hits and scored one run. Fellow sophomore Jacob Humphrey (Standish, Maine) and junior Fritz Genther (Kingston, N.Y.) each tallied two hits. Humphrey and Luccini scored the two runs. The River Hawks totaled 10 hits on the day, including two doubles.
 
Graduate student Matt Draper (Lowell, Mass.) fell to 1-3 on the season after 6.2 innings. Draper struck out four and allowed eight hits and three earned runs. Graduate student Joshua Becker (Burlington, Mass.) went 1.1 innings and allowed two hits with two strikeouts.
 
Jacob Humphrey got things going with a leadoff double before Ryan Proto reached on an error to put runners on the corners early for the River Hawks. Gerry Siracusa reached on an error and Humphrey came in to give UMass Lowell the 1-0 edge. After a leadoff double, Draper retired three straight hitters to end the first. Draper threw back-to-back scoreless innings, and the visitors held a 1-0 lead through three innings.
 
Fritz Genther's ground-rule double and Alex Luccini's base hit put runners on the corners with one out in the top of the fourth, but UMass Lowell could not add to the lead, leaving one runner stranded. Delaware tied the game in the bottom of the sixth thanks to an RBI double from Joey Loynd. Draper struck out Dunion and forced a groundout to end the inning, moving into the seventh tied at 1-1.
 
Delaware took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh. Joshua Becker took over on the mound and escaped the inning trailing by just two runs. Becker struck out two and Jake Fitzgibbons threw a runner out at second to end the eighth.
 
Matt Tobin pinch hit with runners on the corners and two out in the top of the ninth and singled to right center to bring in Luccini and keep runners on the corners. The River Hawks had a man on third with two outs but could not bring the runner in to tie the game.
 
Delaware wins the weekend series with game three set for Sunday, March 19. First pitch is slated for 1:00 p.m. at the Bob Hannah Stadium.