CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The UMass Lowell baseball team (17-21, 7-7 AE) took down the Harvard Crimson (11-22, 7-8 IVY) 17-15 on Tuesday afternoon at O'Donnell Field.
 
"When you score 17 runs you expect to win, and fortunately we did," said head coach Nick Barese. "Our hitters did a great job never taking their foot off the gas. Hopefully we can sort some things out with our pitching and get ready for a huge weekend."
 
Sophomore Carlos Martinez (Coamo, Puerto Rico) went 3-4 with two runs, three RBIs and two walks on the day. Senior Fritz Genther (Kingston, N.Y.) and junior Alex Luccini (Hopedale, Mass.) tallied three runs, two hits and two RBIs each while graduate student Ryan Proto (Centerville, Mass.) and junior Brandon Fish (Londonderry, N.H.) combined for four hits and five RBIs.
 
Graduate Jack Sefrino (Dartmouth, Mass.) led the pitching staff with three strikeouts on the afternoon in 1.2 innings of work. Freshman Kevin Rourke (Londonderry, N.H.) earned his first collegiate win and moved to 1-0 on the year after 2.0 innings with one strikeout. Graduate student Frankie Venezia (Lyndhurst, Mass.) went the final 1.2 innings and struck out one to secure the win.
 
Carlos Martinez got things started in the first with an RBI double to score Genther and get the River Hawks on the board early. Ryan Proto followed with a single to right center that scored Luccini and Martinez, pushing the lead to 3-0 in the first inning. Harvard got on the board with one run in the bottom half of the frame.
 
The offense continued its hot start, scoring three runs on three hits in the second inning. Fritz Genther hit his sixth homer of the year, a two-run shot to right field, to make it a 5-1 game before Carlos Martinez hit an RBI double to score Luccini and push the lead to five runs. Kevin Rourke took over on the mound for the second inning and threw a scoreless frame with the help of a 4-6-3 double play turned by the defense.
 
Harvard tallied four runs in the bottom of the third inning to make it one-run game. LJ Keevan took over on the mound in the fourth and retired the side with one strikeout. The River Hawks' offense got going again in the fifth inning, scoring five runs on three hits to stretch the lead to six runs.
 
The Crimson tacked on two runs in the bottom half with back-to-back walks, cutting the lead to four. Jack Sefrino came in with the bases loaded and one out before a base-clearing double brought Harvard within one. The graduate student struck out two hitters to keep the River Hawks in front through five.
 
Sefrino tallied another strikeout in a scoreless sixth with UMass Lowell still in front by one. Alex Luccini gave the River Hawks a two-run edge with a solo shot in the seventh inning, his ninth homer of the season. Carlos Martinez scored on a wild pitch before an RBI double from Brandon Fish put the River Hawks in front by four.
 
Sophomore Jacob Jette (Franklin, Mass.)  took the mound for the seventh inning and got some help from the defense with another 4-6-3 double play to end the frame. Harvard did tally one to cut the lead down to three heading into the eighth. Roddy Hernandez scored on a throwing error before an RBI double from Luccini made it 16-11 River Hawks.
 
Harvard answered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning to cut the lead down to two. Frankie Venezia ended the inning with a strikeout, sending the game to the ninth inning. Back-to-back doubles from freshman Ryan Strand (Goffstown, N.H.) and redshirt-sophomore Spencer Aubin (Dover, N.H.) brought in another run for the River Hawks who took a three-run lead into the final frame.
 
The Crimson hit a leadoff home run, but Venezia shut the door and UMass Lowell held on to win the game. Next up, the River Hawks host UMBC. Game one is set for Friday, April 26 at LeLacheur Park.