Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
LOWELL, Mass. – Head Coach Jen Starek reached 500 career wins as a head coach, as the UMass Lowell softball team (11-16-1, 1-3 AE) split its doubleheader with Bryant (9-15, 1-3 AE) at River View Field on Friday.

"It's exciting," commented Starek on her accomplishment. "I've gotten to coach a lot of great players along the way, and it's fun to have the 500th here at UMass Lowell." 

Starek and the River Hawks picked up their first America East Conference victory in game one, 3-2, before falling 4-1 in extra innings in game two.

Mya Case finished 3-for-6 on the day with a run scored in game one, while Emily Tow went 2-for-4 with two walks and a run scored. Freshman Giana LaCedra (Tyngsboro, Mass.) tossed her seventh complete game of the season in game one while sophomore Jen Slanovec (Bethlehem, Pa.) picked up a complete game of her own in the game two loss.

"Our pitchers really got out there and competed today," said Starek. "They went after batters and they got themselves into some good positions." 

Game one began with LaCedra retiring the side in order in the first inning. Senior Cayla Tulley (Corona, Calif.) ripped a two-out triple in the bottom half, but the River Hawks were unable to capitalize, bringing the game to the second inning, where both teams collected a run. Bryant's Abby Trimble hit an RBI double in the right center gap, before a senior Brenna Davenport (Merrimack, N.H.) sacrifice fly for the River Hawks brought in sophomore Emily Tow (North Kingstown, R.I.), who singled to lead off the bottom of the second.

Just one inning later, the River Hawks broke the tie, scoring two in the third. Junior Morgan Fisher (Glassboro, N.J.) blasted an RBI double over the center fielder's head and eventually scored when freshman Katelyn Fitzgerald (Ambler, Pa.) singled to center. The Bulldogs got one back in the fourth on a River Hawk miscue to make it a one-run game, but LaCedra shut down their lineup in each of the final three chances to secure the 3-2 victory. The freshman pitcher tallied five strikeouts and just one earned run in the win. 

Game two was another low-scoring affair, as it went into extra innings at a 1-1 tie. Bryant was the first on the board, scoring a run on a Trimble RBi single down the left field line in the first. The River Hawks tied it up in the fourth on a Tulley RBI single up the middle. 

The Bulldogs wasted no time in extras, scoring the game-winning runs in the eighth inning on a two-RBI single and an RBI double. The River Hawks had a chance in the bottom frame, getting two runners on the corners with two outs, but Bryant pitcher Kylie Kenney got out of the jam to end it at 4-1 in favor of the Bulldogs. 

Both teams will return to River View Field on Sunday, April 2 to finish off the three-game series at 1 p.m.