LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell baseball team (18-33, 10-13 AE) earned its 10^th conference win of the season with a 17-7 win over the Binghamton Bearcats (26-20, 12-11 AE) on Friday afternoon at LeLacheur Park. The series is now tied heading into Saturday's final game.
 
Sophomore LJ Keevan (Holden, Mass.) improved to 3-5 on the year after going 5.1 innings with four strikeouts and three earned runs. Keevan threw five scoreless frames in a dominant performance on the mound. Senior Frankie Venezia (Lyndhurst, N.J.) had a strong outing as well, throwing 1.2 innings with just one hit allowed. Fellow senior Miles Cota (Hampstead, NC) and graduate student Shane Bogli (Vernon, Conn.) were both impressive on the bump for the River Hawks.
 
The offense was rolling on Friday as sophomore Jacob Humphrey (Standish, Maine) and graduate student Robert Gallagher (Mullica Hill, N.J.) had four hits, three RBIs and one stolen base each. Humphrey had two triples on the afternoon and scored three runs. Senior Ryan Proto (Centerville, Mass.) had three hits and scored three runs while sophomore Alex Luccini (Hopedale, Mass.) tallied one hit and two RBIs, drew two walks, and scored three runs.
 
UMass Lowell got the bats going early after Keevan threw a quick first inning. Humphrey's leadoff single set up junior Fritz Genther's (Kingston, N.Y.) team-leading eighth home run of the year to put the hosts in front 2-0. Sophomore Brandon Fish (Londonderry, N.H.) singled to bring in Proto to make it a 3-0 game after one.
 
The defense has hit a rough patch of late but showed up to play Saturday. A 4-6-3 double play in the second and a great play at shortstop from Humphrey in the third kept the Bearcats off the board. Gallagher and Genther each tallied an RBI in the second to stretch the lead to five. Two more runs scored in the third as the River Hawks chased Binghamton's ace, Gabe Driscoll, who was 7-0 entering the afternoon. Luccini came across to make it 7-0 through three frames.
 
Proto added to the defensive gems, making a difficult grab in the foul territory in the fourth inning. Keevan continued to shut down the Bearcat offense in the next two innings to maintain the shutout through five.
 
Binghamton got on the board in the sixth with three runs as Frankie Venezia entered the game in relief of Keevan. The senior got out of a jam with two on to halt the Binghamton comeback effort. UMass Lowell responded in a big way in the bottom of the sixth, scoring six runs on just two hits, taking advantage of walks and wild pitches. Venezia made quick work of the seventh to keep the River Hawks ahead 13-3.
 
Jacob Humphrey hit his second triple of the game in the bottom of the seventh, his league-leading fifth of the season. Miles Cota entered in the eighth and threw an 11-pitch, 1-2-3 frame. Humphrey would add to his tally with a two-out, two-run double before an RBI single from Gallagher stretched the lead to 17-3 late.
Shane Bogli took over in the ninth with the bases loaded, looking to close the game. Binghamton tacked out four runs, but the deficit was too much. UMass Lowell took game two 17-7, setting up a tied series Saturday's final game.
 
First pitch is slated for 10:00 a.m. at LeLacheur Park. Prior to the game, the River Hawks will honor the senior class in a special senior day ceremony.