LOWELL, Mass. – The regular season wraps up this week as the UMass Lowell baseball team (17-31, 9-12 AE) will play four games in five days before the America East championship next week. The River Hawks visit the Northeastern Huskies (38-11, 18-9 CAA) before hosting the Binghamton Bearcats (25-19, 11-10 AE) for a three-game conference series.
 
LOOKING AT UMASS LOWELL
The River Hawks went 1-3 in a non-conference week last week, picking up a dramatic win over Kennedy Cup rival Massachusetts in walk-off fashion on Tuesday night before being swept by Hofstra over the weekend.
 
Fritz Genther leads the team batting .331 through 45 games this season. Genther is tied for the team lead with seven home runs and has a team-high 40 RBIs and .556 slugging percentage. Jacob Humphrey has been on a hot streak of late and is batting .310 with team-high 46 runs, 57 hits and 90 total bases. The sophomore has 30 stolen bases on 35 attempts to lead the team as well. The River Hawks struggled on both sides of the ball in the first two games of the Hofstra series but showed a stronger performance in the series finale. UMass Lowell will look for better results ahead of the conference tournament.
 
LJ Keevan returned to the weekend rotation, earning the start on Sunday against the Pride. The sophomore made several key defensive plays and pitched well for the River Hawks, a positive sign ahead of the conference tournament. Joshua Becker and Matt Draper had tough outings against Hofstra but will have a chance to bounce back this week. Brendan Williams came out of the bullpen and provided stable, efficient innings on the mound.
 
Game Info at Northeastern
 
Tuesday, May 16 at Northeastern (3 p.m.)
 
Friedman Diamond (Brighton, Mass.)
 
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LAST MEETING
Northeastern took last season's meeting in extra innings at LeLacheur Park. The River Hawks and Huskies went 12 innings on May 17, 2022, as the visitors scored in the top of the 12^th to secure a 4-3 victory. Northeastern has won the last three meetings with UMass Lowell last victory coming on March 12, 2021, a 10-7 win on the road.
 
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
The Huskies went 2-2 last week, defeating #19 Maryland 9-2 on the road before falling to Williams & Mary 2-1 in a three-game CAA series over the weekend. Northeastern has dropped the last two contests heading into Tuesday. This season has been a good one for the Huskies, picking up wins over three ranked opponents in Boston College, UConn and Maryland this season. Mike Sirota leads the team batting .368 on the year with team-highs in runs (63), home runs (16) and total bases (128). As a unit, Northeastern ranks second in the CAA in batting average (.304), first in team ERA (3.61), first in slugging percentage (.536) and first in on base percentage (.403). Avien Cabral leads the pitching core with a 2.56 ERA and 60 strikeouts with a 7-3 record. Four other pitchers have surpassed 40 strikeouts on the year.
 
Game Info vs. Binghamton
 
Thursday, May 18 vs. Hofstra (5 p.m.)
 
LeLacheur Park (Lowell, Mass.)
 
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Friday, May 19 vs. Binghamton (1 p.m.)
 
LeLacheur Park (Lowell, Mass.)
 
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Saturday, May 20 vs. Binghamton (1 p.m.)
 
LeLacheur Park (Lowell, Mass.)
 
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LAST MEETING
The River Hawks and Bearcats met in the opening weekend of America East action in late March in Vestal, New York. Binghamton came away with a series sweep with 5-4, 6-5 and 8-5 victories.
 
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Binghamton got off to a good start in conference play but has since cooled off some. The Bearcats have won four of the last nine conference games and dropped series against UMBC and Bryant. Last weekend, the Bearcats fell 2-1 in a pivotal series against Bryant that could shape postseason seeding. Tommy Reifler leads the team batting .380 with 41 runs and 60 hits on the year. Nick Roselli and Kevin Gsell have been crucial to the offense, hitting .364 and .353, respectively, this season. Gabe Driscoll, Thomas Babalis and Ryan Bryggman have been the usual weekend rotation for the Bearcats this season and will likely be the lineup for this series. Driscoll leads the team with a 3.73 ERA while Babalis leads the team with 67 strikeouts.
 
CONFERENE RANKS
Fritz Genther is 10^th in the league hitting .331 and 10^th in slugging percentage at .556. Jacob Humphrey is sixth with 46 runs scored and 14^th in hits with 57. Genther is eighth in the league with 40 RBIs. Siracusa and Genther are in the top-15 in the league in doubles, with 14 and 13, respectively. Humphrey's three triples are tied for fifth in the league with teammate Alex Luccini. Genther and Humphrey have each hit seven home runs, tying them for 15^th in the conference.
 
Joshua Becker leads the league with a 2.96 ERA and sits seventh in opposing batting average at .240. Matt Draper is 11^th with a 5.19 ERA and 13^th with a .280 opposing batting average. Draper is also second in innings pitched with 69.1 and tied for fourth in the league with 60 strikeouts.
 
STOLEN GOODS
The River Hawks are second in the conference with 72 stolen bases on 92 attempts this season, behind Maine (94-115). Jacob Humphrey leads the way with 30 stolen bases on 35 attempts while Robert Gallagher is 13-18. With one stolen base on Saturday, Gallagher reached 100 career stolen bases and holds the program record. Fritz Genther and Gerry Siracusa have nine stolen bases each. On the defensive end, UMass Lowell has allowed 33 stolen bases on 49 attempts. Ryan Proto has caught 12 runners stealing while Jake Fitzgibbons has thrown out five runners this season.