Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
LOWELL, Mass. – Junior Ellie Frederick (Sunapee, N.H.) hit a pair of two-run home runs and graduate student Mya Case (Syracuse, N.Y.) finished the day 3-for-6 with a run and RBI, as the UMass Lowell softball team (18-25-1, 6-10 AE) split its doubleheader against UAlbany (18-17, 8-6 AE) at River View Field on Friday afternoon. 

UAlbany's offense found their groove in game one, winning by a score of 12-5, before the River Hawks bounced back for a gritty 4-2 win in the second matchup. Freshman Giana LaCedra (Tyngsboro, Mass.) picked up the complete-game victory in game two, allowing just four hits and one earned run, with three strikeouts. Frederick's two home runs came in the game one loss, as she finished 3-for-4 with two runs and four RBI, while senior Cayla Tulley (Corona, Calif.) found success in game two, collecting two hits in three at-bats with a run scored and an RBI.   

UAlbany was the first on the board in game one, scoring one in the top of the first inning on a fielder's choice after a Jordan Nastos leadoff double. The River Hawks answered right back with a run of their own in the bottom frame, after a graduate student Tori Mueller (Clovis, Calif.) walk and singles from Case and junior Morgan Fisher (Glassboro, N.J) loaded the bases, and Tulley picked up an RBI with a walk. 

The Great Danes scored three in the third and two in the fourth to keep the bats hot, but the River Hawks eventually got back in the game after Frederick smashed a two-run home run over the right field fence, scoring senior Brenna Davenport (Merrimack, N.H.), who hit a two-out double in the prior at-bat. However, the Great Danes retaliated immediately, scoring two more in the fifth on a two-RBI double from Nastos, and adding four in the sixth to make it 12-3. 

Frederick's second two-run homer of the day came in the bottom of the sixth inning, but it wasn't enough, as the Great Danes secured the 12-5 victory in the seventh.

Game two was a lot tighter with less offense for both teams. The River Hawks held a 2-0 lead after three innings, scoring on RBI singles from Tulley and Case in the first and third innings, respectively. LaCedra shut down the Great Danes' lineup through the first four innings, not allowing a run until Victoria Vilarchao drove in two runs for UAlbany on a pinch-hit single in the fifth.

Just when the Great Danes' bats were heating up again, the River Hawks struck, scoring two of their own in the bottom frame on a UAlbany fielding miscue and a sophomore Emily Tow (North Kingstown, R.I.) RBI single to left field. LaCedra closed the game out strong, keeping the Great Danes off the board to give the River Hawks the 4-2 victory and the split of the doubleheader. 

The two teams will return to River View Field tomorrow, April 29, for the rubber match. The game marks the River Hawks' final home game of the season and their Senior Day celebrations.