LITTLE FALLS, N.J. – Freshman Alfred Mucciarone (Franklin, Mass.) shined on the mound as the UMass Lowell baseball team (9-15, 2-3 AE) ended the weekend with a 7-3 win over the NJIT Highlanders (10-16, 3-3 AE) on Sunday afternoon.

"[Alfred] Mucciarone led the way and was fantastic today," said head coach Nick Barese. "He was so competitive all day and commanded all three of his pitches. Offensively, we put the pressure on them all day and eventually broke through in a big inning."
 
Mucciarone went 6.1 innings and struck out seven to improve to 1-1 on the season. Sophomore Michael Simes (Rutland, Mass.) and senior Andres Hulfachor (Nashua, N.H.) each struck out one in 0.2 innings while senior Zach Fortuna (Newburyport, Mass.) struck out two in a scoreless ninth frame.
 
Sophomore Carlos Martinez (Coamo, Puerto Rico) went 3-4 with three RBIs, one run and one walk. Junior Conor Kelly (Hopkinton, Mass.) and senior Roddy Hernandez (Jersey City, N.J.) each tallied two hits while junior Alex Luccini (Hopedale, Mass.) scored two runs and drew two walks.  
 
Both sides went down in order in the first inning as Alfred Mucciarone tallied his first strikeout of the day to send the game to the second. The freshman struck out two more hitters in the second in another quick frame.
 
Conor Kelly and freshman Scott Donahue (Medfield, Mass.) tallied hits while Alex Luccini drew a walk to load the bases with no one out in the top of the fourth. Carlos Martinez doubled down the first base line to score two runs and give UMass Lowell the lead. Donahue scored a wild pitch and Martinez came in to score on a fielder's choice as the River Hawks opened a 4-0 lead.
 
Senior Trey Brown's (Rochester, N.Y.) RBI single scored senior Brandon Fish (Londonderry, N.H.)  to make it a 5-0 game. Conor Kelly followed with an RBI single to cap off the frame as the River Hawks scored six runs on five hits in the fourth inning. Martinez tallied his third RBI of the afternoon in the fifth inning with a single to right to score Luccini, pushing the lead to seven.
 
Alfred Mucciarone continued to dominate on the mound, striking out two more in the sixth inning. The freshman threw six scoreless frames and struck out seven hitters to keep UMass Lowell ahead late in the game. Martinez hit a double in the seventh to tally his third hit of the afternoon.
 
Michael Simes took over on the mound with one out in the seventh. Mucciarone finishes the day with seven strikeouts in 6.1 innings. NJIT got on the board with one run in the seventh, but Simes struck out one to end the frame. After a scoreless eighth for the River Hawks, Andres Hulfachor took over for Simes.
 
The Highlanders tacked one two in the eighth before Zach Fortuna came in with two outs and the bases loaded. Fortuna forced a groundout to escape a tough jam and send the game to the ninth. After a leadoff single, Brian Foley struck out back-to-back hitters and forces a fly out to end the game and secure the win for the River Hawks.
 
Next up, the River Hawks host Dartmouth at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2 at LeLacheur Park.