Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 ORONO, Maine – Junior Ellie Frederick (Sunapee, N.H.) went 3-for-7 (.429) with two doubles, three runs scored and an RBI as the UMass Lowell softball team (14-21-1, 4-6 AE) split Saturday's doubleheader with Maine (10-26, 3-6 AE) at UMaine Softball Complex.

Graduate student Tori Mueller (Clovis, Calif.) found success in game two, finishing 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI, also picking up a run in game one. The River Hawks had four different players with multiple hits in game two, as Frederick, Mueller, sophomore Emily Tow (North Kingstown, R.I.) and freshman Katelyn Fitzgerald (Ambler, Pa.) all finished 2-for-3. Frederick, Mueller and Tow all had one RBI as well. 

Freshman Giana LaCedra (Tyngsboro, Mass.) threw six strong innings in game one, allowing nine hits and two earned runs. Ryley White (Wareham, Mass.) got the nod in game two, tossing a complete game shutout and allowing just four hits with one strikeout.   

Maine earned a walk-off 3-2 victory in the first of the two-game set, but the River Hawks got started first, scoring one in the top of the first inning. After Mueller reached and advanced to second on a Black Bears miscue, junior Morgan Fisher (Glassboro, N.J.) came up and drove her in with an RBI single up the middle. Fisher also played a big part in keeping Maine off the scoreboard in the bottom frame, firing out a runner from the catcher position who was attempting to steal second base.

In the second, Fitzgerald and Frederick collected singles, and the River Hawks added one more on a bases-loaded walk from graduate student Mya Case (Syracuse, N.Y.) to make it a two-run lead. 

The Black Bears got on the board in the fourth inning, scoring once on an Izzy Nieblas RBI single through the right side to cut the lead to one. Both pitchers kept the opposing teams at bay in the fifth and sixth innings, as no runs crossed the plate.

After Maine's pitcher Alysen Rieth retired the River Hawk lineup in order in the seventh, the Black Bears rode that momentum into the bottom frame, where they needed just one run to keep the game alive. Madison Hand led off the inning with a single to center field, causing White to enter the circle for the River Hawks. Kelby Drews then hit a pinch-hit RBI double to the right center gap, to tie the game, 2-2, in the seventh. The next batter sacrifice bunted to move McGouldrick, who re entered the game as a pinch runner, to third base with one out. That is when Katie Jo Moery came up and hit a grounder to shortstop, which gave McGouldrick enough time to score the game-winning run and end game one at 3-2 in favor of the Black Bears.   
In game two, the River Hawks struck first once again. Frederick and Mueller led off the game with back-to-back walks, scoring on a Fisher sacrifice fly to center and an RBI single from Tow. White, after allowing two infield singles, was able to blank the Black Bears in the bottom half with a 1-5-3 double play. 

The second inning saw a great opportunity for the River Hawks to extend their lead, as Fitzgerald singled to start it off, and senior Cayla Tulley (Corona, Calif.) followed that up with a double. Three River Hawks occupied bases after a freshman Shannon Howes (Palgrave, Ontario) infield single, but Maine pitcher Caitlyn Fallon was able to get out of it unscathed.

The lead was extended in the fourth inning, when Frederick hit an RBI double to drive in Tulley, who walked to start the inning. In the next at bat, Mueller slapped a single up the middle, scoring Frederick to make it a 4-0 game. The scoreboard was blank in the fifth, but the River Hawks separated themselves even further in the sixth. Frederick hit another double, this time with nobody on and two outs. After a Mueller bunt single to the pitcher, Case reached on a Black Bears miscue to score Frederick and make it a five-run game. White shut down the Maine lineup in their final chance to secure the game two victory for the River Hawks.

Both teams will return to UMaine Softball Complex tomorrow, April 16 at 11 a.m. for the rubber match.