Box Score
BALTIMORE, Md. – Junior Ellie Frederick (Sunapee, N.H.) hit a pair of two-run home runs, while senior Brenna Davenport (Merrimack, N.H.) collected three hits and four RBI, as the fourth-seeded UMass Lowell softball team (20-27-1, 8-12 AE) got off to a hot start in the 2023 America East Tournament, earning an 11-3 run-rule victory against fifth-seeded Bryant on Wednesday morning at The Diamond at UMBC.

"It was awesome," said Head Coach Jen Starek. "They did a really good job preparing. Coach Claypool did a really good job with them yesterday, gave them a good game plan and they totally executed today. They were loose and they did a great job." 

Seven different River Hawks gathered at least one hit in the ball game, while four had multi-hit games. Along with Frederick and Davenport's four-RBI days, freshman Katelyn Fitzgerald went 2-for-3 with a run and RBI and sophomore Emily Tow finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Graduate student Tori Mueller (Clovis, Calif.), junior Morgan Fisher (Glassboro, N.J.) and senior Darlene Gutierrez (Colton, Calif.) all concluded the day with a hit as well.      

The River Hawks won the race to the scoreboard, as their bats came alive in the second inning, tallying six hits and four runs. Fitzgerald got it started with a hard-hit single to the pitcher, followed by consecutive singles from Tow and Gutierrez to load the bases. Davenport then came to the plate, ripping a single of her own through the left side, scoring Gutierrez and Tow to make it a 2-0 in favor of the River Hawks. Mueller made it a four-run lead after another single from junior Ellie Frederick (Sunapee, N.H.), smashing a two-run triple to the left center gap. 

The third inning was a battle, as Bryant immediately responded in the top frame, with a three-run shot from Megan Marcel, cutting the deficit to just one. In the bottom half, the River Hawks kept their bats going in a big way, scoring five runs on five hits to win the inning. Junior Morgan Fisher (Glassboro, N.J.) led it off with a double and Fitzgerald drove her in on a double of her own down the right field line. Davenport continued her great day, picking up her third and fourth RBI on her second two-run single, before Frederick launched a two-run homer over the center field to make it 9-3 after three innings of play.

Other than the one three-run homer from Bryant, senior Ryley White (Wareham, Mass.) had a great outing for the River Hawks from the circle, tossing 4.1 innings and allowing just three hits with seven strikeouts. In the fourth inning, no runs were scored as White struck out the side to bring it to the fifth inning. Frederick clinched the 11-3 run-rule victory for the River Hawks in the bottom half, blasting her second two-run homer to left center to send the squad to the next round. 

They will return to The Diamond at UMBC to face off against the host and top-seed, UMBC, on Thursday, April 11 at 11 a.m.