LOWELL, Mass. – The #4 UMass Lowell baseball team (23-28, 11-12 AE) will take on the #5 UAlbany Great Danes (15-33-1, 10-13 AE) in a single elimination game in the first round of the America East Tournament.
 
The game is set for Wednesday, May 22 at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, N.Y. with the first pitch at 1:00 p.m.
 
May 22 vs. #5 UAlbany – 1:00 p.m.
 
Watch | Live Stats | Game Notes
 
LOOKING AT UMASS LOWELL
The River Hawks had the weekend off from conference play to close the season and hosted Marist in a doubleheader. UMass Lowell took game one before the Red Foxes earned the split with a game two win. The River Hawks used almost every arm on the pitching staff ahead of the postseason tournament with strong performances from several pitchers. The offense looked sharp in game one with the lineup used almost all season. UMass Lowell ended the conference slate with an 11-12 record, matching last season's league win total.
 
Carlos Martinez leads the team hitting .342 through 52 games this season with a league-leading 25 doubles. Martinez also sits second in the country in doubles and set the UMass Lowell program record for single-season doubles. Ryan Proto appeared in his 200^th career game on Friday, making him the third player and first catcher in program history to reach the mark. Alex Luccini has 61 hits on the year, the best output of his career, while Brandon Fish and Fritz Genther have tallied over 50 hits each.
 
The River Hawks have plenty of options for the mound in the tournament. Michael Simes, Miles Cota, Alfred Mucciarone and Brendan Williams have been strong weekend starters this season. Zach Fortuna has been stellar out of the bullpen with a .067 ERA and 4-0 record. UMass Lowell has several other bullpen options in Brendan Holland, Andres Hulfachor and Cam Sime with James Capellupo and Brian Foley available to close games.
 
SCOUTING THE GREAT DANES
UAlbany struggled in the early stages of the year but have since found their game, finishing with a 10-13 conference mark. The Great Danes took a 2-1 series win over Maine to make the tournament, securing their spot with a 4-3 win over the Black Bears on the final day of the season. Jason Bottari leads the team hitting .323 while three other players are hitting .300 or better this season. Bottari and Will Binder lead the team with 54 hits each while Will Feil has a team-high eight homers. UAlbany has several options to throw on the mound with Cregg Scherrer, Dylan Banner and Connor Eisenmann.
 
MATCHUP HISTORY
The Great Danes have won three of the five games between the teams this season. UMass Lowell and UAlbany split the two games in Lowell before the Great Danes took a 2-1 series win in Albany in early May. UMass Lowell is 23-21 against UAlbany since the 2014 season. The last postseason meeting between the teams came on May 24, 2018, where the River Hawks came away with a 4-0 victory in Orono, Maine.
 
A LOOK AT THE LEAGUE
Bryant earned the top seed for the tournament and UMBC is the second seed. NJIT will be #3 and the River Hawks earned the #4 seed. UAlbany finished at #5 while host Binghamton earned the sixth and final spot in the tournament. Maine is the lone team that will not be in the postseason tournament.
 
UMass Lowell has the best offense in the league, hitting .276 as a team, tied with Bryant. The River Hawks have 499 hits to lead the league as well as 103 doubles, good for second in the league. As a pitching staff, the River Hawks have a team ERA of 6.71, fourth in the league. UMass Lowell's defense has been strong all year and ended the regular season with a .971 fielding percentage, good for second in the league.
 
POSTSEASON HISTORY
Two years ago, the River Hawks reached their first America East Championship game in program history. Last season, UMass Lowell defeated Bryant 6-0 to move to the winner's bracket. The River Hawks then fell to #1 Maine and #3 Binghamton to end the season.