VESTAL, N.Y. – The UMass Lowell softball team (15-24-1, 5-9 AE) dropped a pair of America East Conference games at Binghamton (24-13, 10-4 AE) on Saturday at Bearcats Sports Complex.

Game one of the doubleheader ended via the run rule in the sixth inning with a score of 13-4, before the River Hawks faced an 8-2 setback in game two. Freshman Katelyn Fitzgerald (Ambler, Pa.) finished the day 3-for-6 with an RBI, while seniors Cayla Tulley (Corona, Calif.) and Brenna Davenport (Merrimack, N.H.) each had two hits on the day. Tulley added a solo home run while Davenport crossed the plate once for a run.    

Binghamton had the first scoring opportunity of game one in the first, collecting two hits and eventually advancing runners to second and third. Senior Ryley White (Wareham, Mass.) then turned it on from the circle, striking out the next two batters and drawing a fly out to center field to get out of the jam. However, the Bearcats would cash in on their opportunity in the second, scoring one run on three hits to take the lead. After a quick third and fourth, the River Hawks picked up their first hits of the game in the fifth inning, as Tulley and Fitzgerald each collected singles. The team could not capitalize, and it remained a 1-0 game. 

Binghamton added to their lead in the bottom frame, plating six runs on five hits, including a three-run home run from Quinn DeCicco to make it a seven-run game. The River Hawks retaliated with four runs in the sixth on an RBI double from junior Ellie Frederick (Sunapee, N.H.), two-RBI double from graduate student Mya Case (Syracuse, N.Y.) and a hard-hit RBI single off the wall from junior Morgan Fisher (Glassboro, N.J.) to cut the deficit to just three. 

The River Hawks would not get the chance to bat again in the game, as Binghamton matched their run total from the fifth, scoring six runs in the sixth inning to end the game via the run rule. Once again, the six Binghamton runs were capped off by a three-run home run, this time from Sarah Rende, giving the Bearcats the 13-4 victory. 

Game two saw the Binghamton offense continue its success, but Tulley got the River Hawks on the board first with a solo home run to center field in the second inning. With the 1-0 lead, graduate student Emily Reid (Dighton, Mass.) found some early success from the circle, tossing two scoreless innings to start the game. Binghamton found their stride in the third, putting up four runs on a sacrifice fly, fielder's choice and Allison L'Amoreaux two-run home run.

An RBI single from Fitzgerald in the fourth inning brought the River Hawks within two, as she drove in Fisher, who walked earlier in the inning. Once again, however, the Bearcats responded, scoring two more runs in both the bottom of the fourth and the sixth innings to bring an 8-2 lead into the seventh. Binghamton pitcher Sophia Pappas closed it out in the top of the seventh, allowing just one baserunner on a Bearcats fielding miscue, concluding the game with an 8-2 final score. 

Next up, the River Hawks will host Stonehill for a weekday doubleheader on Tuesday, April 25, starting at 3 p.m.