ORONO, ME. – Graduate student Ryley White (Wareham, Mass.) pitched 16 innings with 16 strikeouts to help the No. 5 UMass Lowell softball team (17-28) grind out a pair of gutsy upsets on Friday and earn a spot in the 2024 America East Championship title game for the first time since 2018 and just the second time ever.
The River Hawks first knocked off No. 3 Bryant (34-17), 2-1, before putting together a gritty, 2-1 victory in nine innings against No. 2 Binghamton (33-18) to advance.
"It's pretty exciting; my heart hasn't slowed down yet," said Head Coach Jen Starek when asked about advancing to the championship game. "This is just a really special group. We hit some bumps early in the season, but they never gave up, and we played all the way through and kept talking about peaking at the right time, and we stuck with it. I can't say enough about this group of seniors and the leadership they've had, so for them to do this today is fantastic."
Senior Lea White (Meriden, Conn.) went 4-for-8 with two runs and two RBI to pace the squad at the plate. Junior Emily Tow (North Kingstown, R.I.) also batted .500 with two stolen bases, including a crucial double in game one. Senior Elizabeth Frederick (Sunapee, N.H.) grabbed three hits and an RBI, including the go-ahead RBI double in game two. Senior Morgan Fisher (Glassboro, N.J.) knocked two hits and an RBI, while freshman Isabel Quintanilla (Puyallup, Wash.) and sophomore Katelyn Fitzgerald (Ambler, Pa.) each collected two walks.
R. White went the distance in the circle in both games, allowing just two runs. She threw nine strikeouts in game one against Bryant, and another seven in the second game against Binghamton.
Game one started out as a pitcher's duel, with both sides collecting four strikeouts in the first two innings. It was not until the top of the third that Tow crushed a leadoff double to right-center to grab the game's first hit. She would advance to third after graduate Cayla Tulley (Corona, Calid.) laid down a sacrifice bunt and scored on a sacrifice fly from L. White to left field, giving the River Hawks a 1-0 lead.
Bryant threatened to even the score in its next plate appearance, putting runners on first and second. The UMass Lowell defense was quick to swat the opportunity, though, as L. White recorded a putout at second to close the third.
The River Hawks had an opportunity to extend the lead in the top of the fourth when Frederick hit an infield single and Quintanilla earned a walk. However, Bryant's Kylie Kenney escaped the inning with a strikeout to keep the difference at 1-0.
Both sides were held to just one hit across the fifth and sixth innings. In the top of the seventh, Fitzgerald grabbed a leadoff walk, followed by a single to shallow right field from Tow to put runners on the corners. After Tow stole second, L. White put down a perfectly placed bunt to allow sophomore Shannon Howes (Palgrave, Ontario), who pinch ran for Fitzgerald, to slide into home and build the advantage to 2-0.
Bryant battled back in the final inning, grabbing a home run to cut the deficit to 2-1, but it was not enough, as the River Hawks held on in their first elimination game of the day.
In the nightcap, Binghamton broke the game open in its first plate appearance, using two singles and a hit-by-pitch to load the bases. Designated player Emma Lawson then earned a seven-pitch walk to score the opening run of the contest and create a 1-0 lead. However, R. White and the River Hawks settled in and left the bases full of Bearcats.
After a scoreless second inning, the River Hawks used a single up the middle and stolen base from L. White to put a runner in scoring position. After graduate student Brenna Davenport (Merrimack, N.H.) walked, Fisher lifted a ball to shallow center field, allowing L. White to round third base and slide into home to even the score at 1-1.
UMass Lowell continued to pressure, loading the bases in the top of the fourth after Fitzgerald walked, Tow was hit by a pitch and L. White reached on a fielder's choice. Binghamton's Brianna Roberts escaped the inning, though, recording two straight outs to keep the contest deadlocked at 1-1.
Binghamton looked to take the lead in the bottom of the fifth after back-to-back singles put runners on first and second, but the River Hawk defense closed the door, forcing a routine pop-out.
In the top of the sixth, UMass Lowell put runners on second and third with one out. However, two infield ground outs prevented the runners from advancing and closed the scoring opportunity. Binghamton responded in the bottom half of the inning after Lawson reached on a throwing error. The Bearcats then hit a ball to deep right field to give the runner a chance to score from first, but Frederick made an incredible one-hop throw to home plate, where Fisher applied the tag out to keep the score even.
After a scoreless seventh and eighth, the River Hawks went to work with a leadoff single from L. White. After she advanced to second on a slow rolling groundout from Davenport, Frederick delivered a double over the head of the right fielder, scoring the go-ahead run to take a 2-1 lead going into the bottom of the ninth.
Following two lineouts, R. White stepped into the circle one final time, collecting her seventh strikeout of the contest to give the River Hawks a 2-1 victory and send them to their second-ever America East Championship game.
UMass Lowell will take on No. 1 UAlbany on Saturday, May 11, at 12 p.m. in the championship game. If the River Hawks take that game, they will force an if necessary game to follow.
