LOWELL, Mass. – Senior Brandon Fish (Londonderry, N.H.) went 3-for-4 at the plate with four RBI and one run, as the UMass Lowell baseball team (13-21) took down the UMBC Retrievers (13-16), 7-6, in game three of the series on Sunday afternoon.

"I thought the team showed a huge amount of toughness today," voiced Head Coach Nick Barese. "To avoid the sweep, and close out a win the way we did is an important step forward. The offense got it's spark from our best guys, Fish, Luccini, and Carlos. Obviously Nick Dirito was great out of the pen. And for him to do what he did, after such a gut wrenching day on Friday says a lot about him as a competitor."

Sophomore Scott Donahue (Medfield, Mass.) and senior Alex Luccini (Hopedale, Mass.) each knocked two hits and two runs to add to the offense. Donahue also tallied one RBI.  

Graduate student Kevin Zarnoch Jr. (Boston, Mass.) started the game in the mound for the River Hawks, tossing 1.0 innings with two strikeouts. Redshirt-sophomore Nick Dirito (Plymouth, Mass.) earned a win out of the bullpen, pitching 5.2 innings and striking out six batters. Graduate student Dylan Bedder (New Providence, N.J.) went 2.0 innings, recording two strikeouts and his first save of the season.

The River Hawk pitching staff made quick work of the Retrievers in the first two innings, as Zarnoch threw back-to-back four pitch strikeouts in the top of the first and Dirito retired three in a row in the second.

UMass Lowell got to work at the plate in the third when Donahue registered the first hit of the game with a first-pitch single. Luccini followed with a double to put two in scoring position for Fish, who drove an RBI single to right field to give the River Hawks a 1-0 edge. 

The visitors waited for the door to open, grabbing two runs in the fifth to jump in front, 2-1. However. The River Hawks were quick to retaliate in the home half of the inning, though, erasing the difference on an RBI single to right by Fish. Another single, this time from junior Carlos Martinez (Coamo, Puerto Rico), put a runner on base for senior Conor Kelly (Hopkinton, Mass.), who jumped on the first pitch he saw and tagged an RBI base hit to regain the lead for the River Hawks, 3-2. Later in the inning, Martinez was able to steal home for a two-run lead.  

Freshman Brayden Cali (Taunton, Mass.) extended the sixth with a two-out walk before scoring on a two-bagger to left field from Donahue to make it 5-2. After Luccini was intentionally walked, Fish came through with two runners on, smacking a base-clearing double that stretched the difference to 7-2.  

UMBC responded in its next trip to the dish, loading the bases before using a double to right to score all three and cut the difference to 7-5. However, Bedder came on in relief in the eighth, leaving a runner stranded and keeping the home side on top. 

In the ninth, Bedder stayed composed, fanning the first batter, before UMBC used an RBI double to make it 7-6. An intentional walk and a batter hit by the pitch had the bases loaded for the Retrievers, but Cali shut the scoring down for the visitors, ending on a double play to seal the 7-6 decision. 

Next up, the River Hawks return to Edward A. LeLacheur Park on Tuesday, April 15, when they match up against Merrimack. The midweek ball game is set to start at 3 p.m. in Lowell, Mass.