LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell baseball team (7-13, 1-1) will hit the road once again for a four-game week this week. The River Hawks visit the Fairfield Stags (7-14) before heading to Little Falls, New Jersey to take on the NJIT Highlanders (8-14, 1-2 AE) in an America East clash.
 
March 26 at Fairfield– 3:00 p.m.
 
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March 29 at NJIT – 6:30pm
 
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March 30 at NJIT – 2pm
 
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March 31 at NJIT – 1pm
 
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LAST TIME OUT
The River Hawks played just two games last week after having a midweek tilt at Holy Cross and series finale against UAlbany canceled due to weather. UMass Lowell was able to get a doubleheader in to open conference play where they split the day with the Great Danes. The River Hawks scored nine runs in the fourth and fifth innings to claim a 10-2 win in game one before falling in game two. Alex Luccini continued to hit well, tallying two hits and three RBIs to lead the team. Luccini, Trey Brown and Ryan Proto each scored two runs in the victory while Brendan Williams earned his first win of the season with a strong 6.0 inning showing, striking out three. UMass Lowell's defense looked strong in game one, turning three double plays to keep UAlbany off the board. Game three was canceled due to poor conditions, so the River Hawks and Great Danes split the opening series.
 
SCOUTING THE STAGS
Fairfield played NJIT in a weekend series last time out, falling 2-1 to the Highlanders. NJIT claimed games one and three while the Stags won game two of the series. Fairfield has a series win over Florida Gulf Coast as well as two wins over Fordham and one against Army. Through 18 games, Ethan Hibbard leads the Stags hitting .500 with team leads in hits (34), doubles (8), home runs (9), RBIs (33) and total bases (69). Blake Helmstetter leads the pitching core with 26 strikeouts on the year and a 3.09 ERA.
 
 
SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS
NJIT is 8-14 to open the year and is coming off a 2-1 series win against Fairfield. The Highlanders opened conference play at Binghamton where they fell 2-1 in the series, winning the finale 8-5 in Vestal. NJIT will host Rutgers on Tuesday prior to the weekend series against the River Hawks. Three players are hitting over .300 so far this year with Albert Choi leading the way at .307. Cade Ladehoff leads the unit with 25 hits and 28 RBIs in 21 games this season. On the mound, Aidan Kidd leads the team with a 4.94 ERA and has a 1-1 record in six appearances. Kidd has struck out 38 hitters to lead the team and the league.
 
A LOOK AT THE LEAGUE
UMBC sits atop the league after a weekend sweep of Binghamton last weekend. Bryant is second at 2-1 in league play with UMass Lowell and UAlbany tied for third at 1-1. NJIT is fifth while Binghamton and Maine round out the league.
 
The River Hawks are third in the league with a .254 batting average with UMBC leading the league at .263. NJIT is fourth at .250. UMass Lowell's pitching is fourth in the league with a team ERA of 8.08 while NJIT is fifth at 8.36. UMBC leads the league with a 5.45 team ERA. UMass Lowell leads the team with a .969 fielding percentage with NJIT in third. UMBC is second at .967. The River Hawks have turned a league-high 20 double plays this season.
 
OFFENSE FIRING
The River Hawks have scored double digit runs in five of the last seven games as the offense has found a good rhythm. Alex Luccini and Trey Brown are hitting .313 and have combined for 47 hits and 26 RBIs. Carlos Martinez has 10 doubles on the year to lead the unit. With 40 doubles as a team, UMass Lowell is tied for second in the conference. The River Hawks have hit 19 homers this year, five coming off the bat of Luccini, sitting second in the league.