LOWELL, Mass. – After a weekend sweep of NJIT at LeLacheur Park, the UMass Lowell baseball team (16-28, 9-12 AE) are back at home for a four-game week. The River Hawks host Massachusetts (11-29, 4-14 A10) before welcoming the Hofstra Pride (23-23, 13-13 CAA) for a weekend series.
 
Game Info vs. Massachusetts
 
Tuesday, May 9 vs. Massachusetts (6 p.m.)
 
LeLacheur Park (Lowell, Mass.)
 
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LAST MEETING
The Minutemen won last season's meeting 11-4 in Amherst on April 13. Prior to the loss, the River Hawks had won the three previous matchups in the Division I era for UMass Lowell.
 
SCOUTING THE MINUTEMEN
Massachusetts has had a difficult year with an 11-29 overall record and 4-14 mark in conference play. The Minutemen have lost four of their last five games and fell to Rhode Island 2-1 in an Atlantic-10 matchup over the weekend. Steve Luttazi leads the team hitting .328 with 28 runs, 42 hits and 19 RBIs. Nolan Tichy has a team-high 33 RBIs, 49 hits and 83 total bases, and leads the team with a .550 slugging percentage. Mikey Jensen leads the pitching staff with a 3.20 ERA and a 1-1 record. Max LeBlanc's 29 strikeouts lead the team.
 
LOOKING AT UMASS LOWELL
The River Hawks went 3-0 over the weekend with a sweep of conference foe NJIT. UMass Lowell has won four of its last five games, all in America East play.   
 
Fritz Genther leads the way hitting .327 while Gerry Siracusa is the only other River Hawk batting over .300, hitting .306 this season. Genther has totaled 33 runs, 48 hits, 10 doubles and a team-high seven home runs this year while Siracusa has tallied a team-high 55 hits, 14 doubles and 36 RBIs. The River Hawks are beginning to get offense from their entire batting order as Jacob Humphrey and Alex Luccini are finding their rhythm at the plate. Ryan Proto and Robert Gallagher have provided big hits and have combined to score 55 runs this season.
 
Matt Draper and Joshua Becker started the opening two games of the series against NJIT and both earned the win in their respective start. Becker's ERA improved to 2.96 after an impressive performance against the Highlanders on Saturday while Draper leads the team with 60 strikeouts on the year. LJ Keevan earned the win on Sunday afternoon, improving his record to 2-5 on the season. Draper and Becker are likely to start over the weekend with the third spot yet to be decided. Frankie Venezia is likely to get the start against the Minutemen on Tuesday night, making his seventh appearance and second start of the campaign.
 
Game Info vs. Hofstra
 
Friday, May 12 vs. Hofstra (7 p.m.)
 
LeLacheur Park (Lowell, Mass.)
 
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Saturday, May 13 vs. Hofstra (4 p.m.)
 
LeLacheur Park (Lowell, Mass.)
 
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Sunday, May 14 vs. Hofstra (12 p.m.)
 
LeLacheur Park (Lowell, Mass.)
 
Watch | Live Stats
 
LAST MEETING
The River Hawks and Pride last met in 2015 with Hofstra coming away with a 6-5 victory. The Pride have won two of three meetings since the 2014 season. UMass Lowell's last win came on May 17, 2014, a 4-2 win in a doubleheader in Hempstead, N.Y.
 
SCOUTING THE PRIDE
Hofstra will visit UConn on Wednesday, May 10 before coming to Lowell for the weekend. The Pride are coming off a weekend sweep of Monmouth in CAA action, outscoring their opponent 35-4. Four players are hitting over .300 and as a unit, the Pride have 478 hits this season with 259 RBIs. They are also an effective base running team, with 57 stolen bases on 76 attempts. Dylan Palmer leads the team hitting .347 and has a team-high 20 stolen bases. Brad Camarda is 5-1 on the mound with a 5.35 ERA with 45 strikeouts. Mark Faello has a team-best 4.88 ERA and 46 strikeouts.
 
CONFERENE RANKS
Fritz Genther is 12^th in the league hitting .327 while Gerry Siracusa is 16^th, hitting .306 this season. Jacob Humphrey is sixth with 41 runs scored, Siracusa sits ninth with 55 hits and seventh with 36 RBIs. Genther is ninth in the league with 35 RBIs. Siracusa and Genther are in the top-15 in the league in doubles, with 14 and 10, respectively. Humphrey's two triples are tied for fifth and Genther's seven home runs have him tied for 11^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 third in the conference with 59 stolen bases on 77 attempts this season, behind Maine (88-105) and NJIT (60-74). Jacob Humphrey leads the way with 22 stolen bases on 25 attempts while Robert Gallagher is 10-15. 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 11 runners stealing while Jake Fitzgibbons has thrown out five runners this season.