LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell baseball team (8-20, 3-6 AE) completed the series sweep of the Bryant Bulldogs (13-14, 4-5 AE) with a 16-3 route on Sunday afternoon at LeLacheur Park. The River Hawks picked up three big wins in conference play, scoring 42 runs over three games.
 
Senior Ryan Proto (Centerville, Mass.) led the team with four hits and four RBIs on the afternoon and scored two runs. Fellow senior Matt Tobin (Poland, N.Y.) tallied four RBIs to go with two hits and one run. Graduate student Gerry Siracusa (Kinnelon, N.J.), sophomore Jacob Humphrey (Standish, Maine) and junior Fritz Genther (Kingston, N.Y.) each tallied two hits on the afternoon and combined for five RBIs.
 
Freshman Nick DiRito (Plymouth, Mass.) had a great day on the mound, earning the win to improve to 2-2 on the season. The rookie threw 6.0 innings and struck out three with two earned runs in the victory. Fellow freshman Jacob Jette (Franklin, Mass.) and graduate student Zach Rodgers (Parrish, Fla.) each threw 1.0 inning and struck out one batter. Freshman Michael Simes (Rutland, Mass.) closed the game out with one strikeout in the ninth inning.
 
Nick DiRito threw a 1-2-3 first, retiring the side with a strikeout in an efficient first frame. Jacob Humphrey hit a leadoff double in the bottom of the first and would score after Siracusa grounded out, giving UMass Lowell the early lead. Brian Schaub hit a solo homerun to left center to tie the game at 1-1 in the top of the third.
 
UMass Lowell took the lead in the bottom half of the inning after Gerry Siracusa's double to deep left scored two. The graduate student scored on Fritz Genther's RBI groundout, giving the River Hawks a 4-1 lead.
 
With runners on the corners, Matt Tobin doubled down the left field line to score Brown and put runners on second and third with nobody out. Conor Kelly and Jacob Humphrey brought in two runs with two sacrifice flies, extending the lead to 7-1 through four innings. Nick DiRito pitched well and threw a scoreless fifth, ending the frame with his third strikeout of the afternoon.
 
Alex Luccini continued to hit well on the weekend, picking up his ninth hit of the series with an RBI single to score Genther in the bottom of the fifth. Ryan Proto tacked on another run with an RBI single to center as the River Hawks took a 9-1 lead. A fielder's choice scored the River Hawks tenth run of the game through five innings.
 
Bryant picked up their second run of the game in the top of the sixth with a solo homerun to right field, cutting the lead to eight. Nick DiRito got out of a jam with two on and two out, ending the inning with a line out and keeping the River Hawks in front 10-2. UMass Lowell tacked on another run after Trey Brown was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
 
Ryan Proto's single to right with the bases loaded scored two more runs and put runners on the corners, still with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. Matt Tobin brought in Brown and Proto with a single to center as the River Hawks continued to pile on runs, taking a 15-2 lead late.
 
Jacob Jette and Zach Rodgers threw back-to-back scoreless innings. Ryan Proto brought in another run with an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to give UMass Lowell a 14-run lead. Michael Simes entered the game for the ninth struck out one to secure the series sweep.
 
UMass Lowell returns to action Tuesday, April 11 with a trip to Merrimack for a 3:00 p.m. midweek game before traveling to Albany for another America East weekend series.