Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell softball team (10-15-1, 0-2 AE) split its midweek doubleheader with Merrimack (6-13, 3-2 NEC) on Wednesday afternoon at River View Field.

The River Hawks tallied just two hits in game one, falling 6-1, but turned it around in game two, exploding for 12 runs in a 12-0 shutout.

"We know we can play well, so we just need to work on our approach a little bit," said Head Coach Jen Starek.   

Both senior Brenna Davenport (Merrimack, N.H.) and junior Ellie Frederick (Sunapee, N.H.) hit doubles to center field in game one. Frederick and senior Cayla Tulley (Corona, Calif.) homered, and eight different players collected at least one hit in the game two victory. Freshman Giana LaCedra (Tyngsboro, Mass.) picked up the game two complete-game shutout, fanning four batters and allowing just two hits.      

The River Hawks were the first on the board in the first inning of game one, as Frederick reached on a Merrimack miscue and scored on a graduate student Mya Case (Syracuse, N.Y.) sacrifice fly to right field. However, the Warriors retaliated immediately, scoring five runs on five hits in the top half of the second. 

Merrimack pitcher Bry Mitchitson and the Warrior defense kept the River Hawks' bats quiet throughout the game, as Mitchitson tossed all seven innings and allowed just two hits and one run with four strikeouts. Graduate Student Kaylie See entered the circle in relief for the River Hawks in the fourth inning, and did not allow a run or hit.

The bats came alive for the River Hawks in game two, as freshman Jordan Chamberlain (Wolcott, Conn.) got it started in the second with a two-run double to deep right field, scoring Tulley and sophomore Emily Tow (North Kingstown, R.I.), who singled and walked respectively. 

They kept it going in the third, breaking the game open with seven runs and six hits, while batting around the order. Graduate student Tori Mueller (Clovis, Calif.) singled twice in the inning and earned two RBI on her second. Frederick smashed a solo home run to lead off the inning, and Case and junior Morgan Fisher (Glassboro, N.J.) each had singles, with Fisher's allowing two runners to cross the plate. Senior Darlene Gutierrez (Colton, Calif.) added an RBI-double, scoring Fisher and helping the River Hawks extend the lead to 9-0.

The offense rode the momentum after LaCedra shut down the Merrimack lineup again, scoring three more in the fourth to make it 12-0. Fisher hit a leadoff double to right center field and eventually scored when Tulley blasted a two-run shot. After a Chamberlain walk, she went on to score on another Merrimack miscue for the final River Hawk run of the game. LaCedra came in to secure the 12-0 victory in the top of the fifth, striking out three to end it. 

Next up, the River Hawks are scheduled to host a three-game America East Conference series against Bryant on Saturday, April 1 and Sunday, April 2.

"Hopefully we can take some of the good energy from the second game, and see how important it is to get off to a good start and get after it," said Starek.