LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell baseball team (13-28, 6-12 AE) fell to the Maine Black Bears (23-15, 13-2 AE) by a score of 11-5 in Saturday's series finale at LeLacheur Park.
 
Sophomore Jacob Humphrey (Standish, Maine) led the team with two runs, two hits and two stolen bases. Graduate student Robert Gallagher (Mullica Hill, N.J.) had two RBIs with one hit and one walk while fellow graduate student Gerry Siracusa (Kinnelon, N.J.) had one run, one hit and one RBI.
 
Freshman Nick DiRito (Plymouth, Mass.) got the start and fell to 3-3 on the year after 2.0 innings with five hits and two strikeouts. Junior Brendan Williams (Auburn, N.Y.) had a strong showing on the mound, throwing 4.0 innings with four strikeouts and three earned runs. Freshman Michael Simes (Rutland, Mass.) went 3.0 innings with four earned runs and two strikeouts.
 
Nick DiRito got out of an early jam with the bases loaded in the top of the first. The freshman struck out Nick White swinging to end the frame and keep the game tied. Maine opened the scoring in the top of the second with an RBI double to left center field. The Black Bears tacked on three more runs to take a 4-0 lead in the second. Senior Trey Brown (Rochester, N.Y.) scored on a balk to get UMass Lowell on the board in the bottom of the second.
 
Brendan Williams struck out the first two hitters of the third inning, but Maine took advantage of two walks and a hit by pitch to add to the lead. The Black Bears scored three runs on two hits to take a 7-1 lead. Jacob Humphrey stole second and third before scoring on another balk to make it a 7-2 game. Gerry Siracusa hit his third homerun of the year, a solo shot to left field, to make it a four-run game through three.
 
Williams settled the game down in the fourth and fifth innings, throwing back-to-back scoreless frames to the keep the River Hawks in the game. Humphrey hit a leadoff double down the left field line before advancing to third on an error. Robert Gallagher's RBI single to right center made it a 7-4 game.
 
Humphrey made an incredible over the shoulder catch at the wall for the first out of the top of the sixth inning. Williams pitched another scoreless inning to bring the UMass Lowell offense back to the plate. Michael Simes took over on the mound and threw a 1-2-3 seventh inning with one strikeout. The freshman pitched another scoreless frame in eighth, keeping the hosts in it.
 
Jeremiah Jenkins drilled a two-out, three-run homerun to right center to extend the Maine lead to 11-4 in the top of the ninth. Jacob Humphrey hit a one-out double down the left field line to put runners on second and third with one out. Gallagher's sacrifice fly scored senior Frank Wayman (Horseheads, N.Y.) but left the River Hawks with just one out left.
 
Maine held on to win the game and take the series 2-1. UMass Lowell returns to action on Friday night to host NJIT at LeLacheur Park.