RICHMOND, Va. – Senior Alex Luccini (Hopedale, Mass.) went 1-3 at the plate with a home run, as the UMass Lowell baseball team (3-9) dropped the final game against Richmond (13-2), 12-2, in eight innings on Saturday afternoon.
"We struggled to execute on the mound today, and really dug ourselves a hole," said Head Coach Nick Barese. "We have two more games before conference play opens up, and we need to be far more competitive on the mound. I'm confident in how hard our guys work, and I know we'll bounce back, but we need to have a sense of urgency."
Sophomore Scott Donahue (Medfield, Mass.) continued his strong weekend, going 2-4 with a double and a run, while junior Carlos Martinez (Coamo, Puerto Rico) tallied two hits and earned one RBI on the day.
Graduate student Kevin Zarnoch Jr. (Boston, Mass.) made the start for the River Hawks, while junior Brian Foley (Milton, Mass.) entered as a relief pitcher, tossing four strikeouts in 3.1 innings pitched. Taking over on the mount in the fifth, graduate student Dylan Bedder (New Providence, N.J.) fanned five batters in 2.0 innings before graduate student Miles Cota (Hampstead, N.C) finished out the final inning for his squad.
The River Hawks were active early, as Luccini cracked the ball high over the right field wall for his third home run of the season, giving his team a 1-0 lead. Next to the plate, Donahue knocked a one-out double down the left field line, eventually making it home thanks to a two-out single by Martinez. The home team answered though, putting up five in the bottom half of the frame to own a 5-2 advantage.
After taking over in the first, Foley started to get into a rhythm on the bump, fanning the first batter of the inning before getting two more outs to leave two stranded, sending the visitors to the plate. After working to a 2-2 count, Donahue laced a single to the left side of the field, soon advancing to second on a ground out. Martinez legged out a single to second base to set up runners on the corners for the River Hawks, but they were unable to capitalize. Foley continued to work in the bottom of the frame though, going three up and three down, including back-to-back strikeouts swinging to end the inning.
The Spiders stretched their lead in the bottom of the fourth, adding three more runs to make it a six-run difference. Continuing to fight, Luccini drew a lead off walk on a full count to start the fifth. He advanced to second thanks to a passed ball, but was unable to make it home, keeping it an 8-2 game heading into the bottom of the fifth. With momentum on their side, the Spiders added three more to make it a nine-run game.
Looking to make a comeback, UMass Lowell kept Richmond from adding to their lead in the sixth and seventh, thanks to two strikeouts by Bedder and an out at the plate thanks to a perfect throw from right by Donahue. Although senior Brandon Fish (Londonderry, N.H.) recorded a single up the middle in the eighth, Richmond shut down the scoring opportunity before adding one more in their plate appearance, sealing the 12-2 final score.
The River Hawks play in their final game of the weekend tomorrow, March 9, when they take on Lafayette for the second time in three days. First pitch is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. at Pitt Field.
