LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell baseball team (5-12) returns to Lowell this week for its home opener on Wednesday, March 19, versus Holy Cross (8-10), before hosting Le Moyne (4-12) for a weekend series, beginning on Friday, March 21. 

LAST TIME OUT
The River Hawks competed in their first midweek game this past Wednesday in a 9-2 setback at Longwood, with junior Joseph DeLanzo (Nutley, N.J.) going 2-for-3 on the afternoon. The team then traveled north to Maryland for its first conference opponent of the season, UMBC. Junior Zachary Scott (Lunenburg, Mass.) logged one hit, one RBI and one run against the Retrievers in the first game of the series on Friday, but the team would fall, 7-6. On Saturday, the River Hawks split a doubleheader against UMBC, led by senior Alex Luccini (Hopedale, Mass.), who tallied four hits with two RBI and two runs. Sophomore Rowan Masse (Manchester, Conn.) also posted four knocks on the day, including three RBI. The River Hawks earned a 4-3 victory in the nightcap, as redshirt-junior Brendan Holland (North Andover, Mass.) started on the bump, throwing in six innings and earning seven strikeouts. Junior Brian Foley (Milton, Mass.) entered in the final frame of the second game on Saturday, registering his first save of the season. 

LEADING THE FLOCK
Sophomore Scott Donahue (Medfield, Mass.) leads the team overall in batting average (.419), on-base percentage (.478) and hits (26). Luccini boasts team bests with 14 runs, two triples and three home runs. Sophomore Sean O'Leary (Foxboro, Mass.) paces the River Hawks in OPS (1.168), and slugging percentage (.706). Senior Brandon Fish (Londonderry, N.H.) has knocked a team-high eight doubles, while sitting second with a .407 batting average. DeLanzo has totaled a team-high 15 RBI on the season, as well. 

Redshirt-sophomore Nick Dirito (Plymouth, Mass.) leads the pitching staff with a 4.00 ERA and two saves. He also owns a WHIP of 1.61 with 19 strikeouts through 18.0 innings pitched. Sophomore Alfred Mucciarone (Franklin, Mass.) has tossed a team high of 25.1 innings, while leading in total punchouts with 23. Holland leads the team in total wins on the season (2). Graduate student Dylan Bedder (New Providence, N.J.) has been a solid relief pitcher for the River Hawks, leading the team in WHIP (1.50) with 13 strikeouts. 

HIT INTO PLAY
Following this weekend's play, the River Hawks have totaled eight games with 10+ hits, so far this season. UMass Lowell has reached the 15-hit mark three times so far, as the team stroked a season-high 21 total knocks versus Lafayette on Sunday, March 9. The most recent game with 10+ hits was this past Saturday against UMBC (13). 

CRACKING THE LEADERBOARD
Donahue remains on the NCAA leaderboard, as he is currently tied for 25th in batting average (.462) in Division I and sits 28th in hits per game (1.73). Fish is currently tied for 26th in doubles (8), while sitting in 22nd in doubles per game (.53) in the country. 

AE OVERALL PLAYER STATISTICAL RANKS
Three River Hawks rank in the top three spots on the batting average leaderboard in the America East, with Donahue at the top in first (.419), Fish claiming second (.407), and O'Leary in third (.382). O'Leary has bounced to first overall in the conference in slugging percentage (.706), with Fish in fourth (.611). For on-base percentage, Donahue is ranked second (.478), Fish is behind in third (.467) and O'Leary is in fifth (.462). Donahue is also ranked second (26) in hits in the league, while Fish leads the way in doubles (8). Luccini is tied for first in the conference for triples with two. Luccini and O'Leary are tied for fourth in home runs (3) on the America East leaderboard. Scott still remains in the top 10 for stolen bases in the AE with five for fourth place. 

On the mound, Dirito sits third in the America East in saves (2). Mucciarone has claimed third for strikeouts (23), as well. 

SCOUTING HOLY CROSS
Holy Cross heads to Lowell, after being defeated in their most recent matchup, 6-0, at Binghamton on Saturday, March 15. This dropped the Crusaders to 8-10 on the season, so far. Senior Brendan Jones highlighted the Crusaders, going 2-for-3 at the plate. 

Senior Jimmy King totals 26 hits, 14 RBI and 12 runs with a .356 batting average and an OPS of .892. Sophomore Gianni Royer adds to the offense with 22 knocks, 13 RBI and 17 runs so far. Junior Jaden Wywoda has been a top pitcher for Holy Cross, throwing 23 strikeouts in 25.0 innings pitched. He owns a 3.96 ERA and a WHIP of 1.28. 

SCOUTING LE MOYNE
The Dolphins grabbed a win in their last outing against the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, 11-4, to improve to 4-12 overall so far. Freshman Tim Denet was the key player for Le Moyne in the game, going 2-for-4 with one RBI and two runs. 

Denet has added 17 hits, eight RBI and 10 runs, while posting a batting average of .425 and an OPS of 1.200. The pitcher to watch is graduate student Bobby McBride who notched an ERA of 3.24 and a WHIP of 1.14, so far. Through 16.2 innings pitched, he has tossed 21 strikeouts. 

MATCHUP HISTORY
The midweek game marks the third time UMass Lowell will be meeting with Holy Cross in the Division I era. The River Hawks hold a 2-0 record over the Crusaders. The most recent game happened on March 23, 2022, when UMass Lowell took a 17-3 victory at Holy Cross. Le Moyne has met the River Hawks in the past, before the DI era, as the series sits at 0-1-1 all-time. The last matchup occurred on March 25, 2012, as the River Hawks fell in a 5-4 contest at Le Moyne.