WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The UMass Lowell baseball team (3-2) fell to the William & Mary Tribe (4-1) 5-4 in extra innings on Saturday afternoon.
 
"Today came down to defense and situational hitting," said head coach Nick Barese. "Our guys pitched well enough to win the game. Collectively, we need to do a better job executing offensively in run-producing situations. I have complete confidence our hitters will get better each game. We have a veteran group with a lot of talent."
 
Seniors Roddy Hernandez (Jersey City, N.J.) and Fritz Genther (Kingston, N.Y.) each tallied two hits and combined for three runs. Genther, Hernandez and junior Alex Luccini (Hopedale, Mass.) each had an RBI on the afternoon.
 
Sophomore Brian Foley (Milton, Mass.) fell to 0-1 on the season, going 1.0 innings with one strikeout. Freshman James Capellupo (Hilton, N.Y.) went 3.0 innings and struck out five with one hit allowed while senior Brendan Williams (Auburn, N.Y.) got the start and went 5.0 frames with four strikeouts.
 
Brendan Williams struck out two in the scoreless first inning. Sean O'Leary was hit by a pitch to lead off the second before Anthony Marcano got his first hit as a River Hawk, a single to left to put two runners on. Roddy Hernandez singled to left to score O'Leary to give UMass Lowell early edge.
 
William & Mary had a chance to tie the game in the third, but Williams struck out one and Ryan Proto caught a runner stealing to escape a jam and keep the River Hawks in front. Fritz Genther drew a leadoff walk and stole second before Martinez was walked to put two on once again. Alex Luccini was hit by a pitch to bring in another run.
 
The Tribe had the bases loaded in the bottom of the third, but Williams escaped the jam with a groundout to end the frame. Fritz Genther hit his first homerun of the season in the fourth, a solo shot down the right field line, to give UMass Lowell a 3-0 lead.
 
An RBI single with one out in the bottom of the fourth got the Tribe on the board. A balk scored a second run, but Williams escaped the jam with the lead. The senior then threw a 1-2-3 fifth inning to keep UMass Lowell in front. Genther tallied his second hit of the game with a double to right field in the top of the seventh but was left stranded at third.
 
James Capellupo entered the game for the sixth inning as Williams finished the day with four strikeouts in five innings. Capellupo struck out two in the sixth and seventh innings, sending the game to the eighth with UMass Lowell leading by one.
 
The freshman struck out one in the eighth but a two-out single scored two runs to give the Tribe a 4-3 lead heading into the ninth. Roddy Hernandez led off the ninth with an infield single before Genther reached on a fielder's choice to put runners on the corners with one out. A wild pitch with two outs scored Hernandez to tie the game.
 
Brian Foley entered the game for the bottom of the ninth. The Tribe had a runner on second with two outs, but Foley struck out Rush to send the game to extra innings. William & Mary won the game 5-4 in the tenth as a runner came in to score on a throwing error.
 
Game three is set for 12:00 p.m. on Sunday.