BLACKSBURG, Va. – The UMass Lowell baseball team (2-8, 0-0 AE) fell to the #11 Virginia Tech Hokies (10-2, 0-0 ACC) in game one of the two-day series.
Sophomore
Jacob Humphrey (Standish, ME.) went 5-5 with two runs, one stolen base and two runs to lead the team. Fellow sophomore
Brandon Fish (Londonderry, N.H.) tallied two hits, including a two-run home run, and one run. Three other River Hawks recorded a hit in the loss.
Eight pitchers saw action against the Hokies with sophomore
Hayden Duke (Mattapoisett, Mass.) and junior
Zach Fortuna (Newburyport, Mass.) leading the team with two strikeouts each. Graduate student
Shane Bogli (Vernon, Conn.) made his first start as a River Hawk, going 1.2 innings and falling to 0-1 on the season.
The River Hawks took an early lead in game one against the Hokies with
Jacob Humphrey stealing home to put the visitors in front 1-0. Humphrey had two hits, one run and one stolen base in two at bats through the first three innings. Bogli got out of the bottom of the first behind a 5-4-3 double play from his defense.
Virginia Tech took the lead in the second after two, two-run homeruns from Eddie Eisert and Clay Grady.
Brian Foley took over on the mound and forced a fly out to end the frame. A solo homerun and a two RBI single tacked on three runs in the third as the hosts stretched the lead.
Robert Gallagher hit a leadoff single in the fourth before a two-out RBI double from Humphrey cut the lead to 7-2.
Hayden Duke entered the game in the fourth and struck out two to end the inning, but the Hokies tacked on one more run.
The River Hawks put together three hits in the top of the fifth to load the bases, but UMass Lowell was unable to bring runners in and left all three stranded.
Zach Fortuna fanned two hitters, but Virginia Tech tacked on five runs in the bottom of the fifth to stretch the lead to 13-2.
Jacob Humphrey continued his success at the plate, recording his fourth his of the afternoon in the sixth inning.
The Hokies' offense stayed hot in the seventh inning, adding six runs on six hits. The hosts added three more in the eighth before
Brandon Fish hit a two-run shot in the ninth to add to the River Hawks' tally.
Game two between the River Hawks and Hokies is set for 1:00 p.m. at English Field on Wednesday, March 8.
