CHARLESTON, S.C. – Senior Lea White (Meriden, Conn.) batted .667 (2-3) with one stolen base and one run, as the UMass Lowell softball team (1-8) dropped its final game against St. John's (4-6), 8-1, Sunday morning at the CSU Blue/Gold Classic hosted by Charleston Southern.
Freshman Isabel Quintanilla (Puyallup, Wash.) and senior Morgan Fisher (Glassboro, N.J.) each registered a hit, with Fisher adding an RBI. Graduate student Brenna Davenport (Merrimack, N.H.) was the other River Hawk to collect a hit, also drawing a walk.
Senior Ryley White (Wareham, Mass.) went 5.0 innings pitched with four strikeouts and eight hits allowed before freshman Olivia DeCitise (Troy, N.Y.) and sophomore Giana LaCedra (Tyngsboro, Mass.) came out of the bullpen to finish the contest.
The River Hawks got on the board in their very first at-bat, when L. White singled to the pitcher and stole second to put herself in scoring position for an RBI single from Fisher. The Red Storm would respond in the same inning, though, scoring the game-tying run on a ball put in play by Anese Thompson. The game's home team would then extend the lead with a two-RBI single from Cassidy Stouffer. In the second, St. John's scratched another run across on a base hit from Melanie Santos, making it 4-1.
St. John's pitcher Loreley Francia would limit the River Hawks to three hits for the remainder of the contest, throwing a complete game with nine strikeouts and five hits allowed.
The home team would add to their lead on a Thompson home run in the fifth and three runs in the sixth to pull away for the 8-1 outcome.
The River Hawks will have 11 days until they travel to Maryland to take part in the Towson DeMarini Invitational, where the squad will face off against the host, Providence and Howard on March 1-3.
