LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell baseball team (18-22, 8-8 AE) fell 12-5 to the UMBC Retrievers (18-18, 8-6 AE) in game two of the weekend series on Saturday afternoon.
 
Freshman Ryan Strand (Goffstown, N.H.) went 3-5 on the afternoon to lead the offense while sophomore Carlos Martinez (Coamo, Puerto Rico) added two hits, one run and one RBI. Senior Fritz Genther (Kingston, N.Y.) scored two runs and tallied one hit.
 
Freshman Alfred Mucciarone (Franklin, Mass.) went 4.1 innings and struck out three to lead the pitching staff but fell to 2-2 on the year. Sophomore Brian Foley (Milton, Mass.) and graduate student Frankie Venezia (Lyndhurst, N.J.) each struck out two hitters in 1.0 inning of work.
 
Alfred Mucciarone got off to a good start on the bump, striking out two in a 1-2-3 first inning. The River Hawks drew three straight walks to load the bases before a sacrifice fly from Martinez brought in senior Trey Brown (Rochester, N.Y.) for the game's first run. Graduate student Ryan Proto (Centerville, Mass.) followed with a single up the middle to score both runners and push the lead to 3-0 after one.
 
The Retrievers got one back in the top of the second after two fielding errors from UMass Lowell. The River Hawks escaped the inning with a two-run lead, but three errors. The defense turned a 6-4-3 double play to escape a jam with two on in the third inning and keep UMass Lowell in front.
 
Walks from Martinez and junior Conor Kelly (Hopkinton, Mass.) and a single from Strand loaded the bases with one out in the third for junior Brandon Fish (Londonderry, N.H.). A wild pitch scored Martinez and gave the River Hawks a 4-1 lead. Mucciarone picked up his third strikeout of the day in the fourth in another scoreless frame. Genther came in to score on an error in the fourth to push the lead to 5-1.
 
The visitors rallied in the top of the fifth with three runs to cut the lead to one. Freshman Cam Sime (Pittsfield, Mass.) took over on the mound with two on and one out. Alex Luccini made an incredible diving catch to end the inning, but UMBC took a 7-5 lead behind six runs on six hits.
 
Brian Foley entered the game in the sixth and recorded two strikeouts, but UMBC tacked on two runs to push the lead to four. Alex Luccini and Carlos Martinez hit back-to-back singles with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, but both were left stranded.
 
Freshman James Capellupo (Hilton, N.Y.)  threw a 1-2-3 seventh inning to keep the deficit at four and bring the offense back to the plate. The Retrievers pitched well and kept UMass Lowell off the board and extended their lead to 12-5 in the eighth inning.
 
The River Hawks were held scoreless for the final five innings and fell 12-5 in game two. The series finale is set for 12:00 p.m. at LeLacheur Park on Sunday, April 28.