LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell baseball team (14-24) concludes its short road trip with a contest at Boston College (19-20) on Wednesday, April 23, before returning home to host the Binghamton Bearcats (18-17) for a weekend series starting on Friday, April 25. 

LAST TIME OUT 
The River Hawks enter Wednesday's game coming off a 1-3 week, capped off by a 4-3 victory over Bryant . Senior Conor Kelly (Hopkinton, Mass.) stroked two doubles and scored a run in the midweek setback to Merrimack. In the weekend series against Bryant, the Bulldogs came out on top with a 12-1 victory over the River Hawks in game one, with lone run for UMass Lowell coming off a solo shot by freshman Caden Angelo (Southington, Mass.).The River Hawks finished the week strong, as the team split the doubleheader this past Saturday, dropping game one in a 14-10 decision before taking game two, 4-3. Senior Alex Luccini (Hopedale, Mass.) put together a solid performance on Saturday, as the outfielder went 5-for-9 in plate appearances with a double, two RBI, and two runs. Redshirt sophomore Nick Dirito (Plymouth, Mass.) held his own on the bump in game two, earning a victory in 5.1 frames pitched while fanning three batters. Graduate student Dylan Bedder (New Providence, N.J.) recorded his second save of the season, tossing 3.0 innings and striking out three batters. 

LEADING THE FLOCK 
Approaching the last month of the season, senior Brandon Fish (Londonderry, N.H.) remains at the top in batting average (.357), doubles (13), and RBI (30) on the team. Luccini leads overall in OPS (1.045), slugging percentage (.611), on-base percentage (.434), hits (48), runs (34), triples (5), and stolen bases (10). Luccini is also tied in first for home runs (6) with junior Carlos Martinez (Coamo, Puerto Rico). 

Bedder leads the team in earned run average (3.22), while also posting the lowest WHIP (1.16). Dirito tallies the most wins (4) and saves (4) on the team. Redshirt junior Brendan Holland (North Andover, Mass.) has pitched the most innings (50.1), while adding a team-high 50 strikeouts. 

HIT INTO PLAY 
The River Hawks have tallied 18 games this season with 10+ hits, including registering 12 hits at Bryant this past weekend. The team's overall record in those 18 games is 10-8. The River Hawks posted a season-high 21 knocks versus Lafayette on Sunday, March 9. UMass Lowell is 14-10 when totaling eight or more hits in a contest. 

STRIKE THREE YOU'RE OUT 
UMass Lowell's pitching staff has totaled four games so far with 12+ strikeouts. This season, the team posted 15 strikeouts against Le Moyne on March 23, only one short of the Division I program record of 16, which was set during the 2018 season. When posting 10+ strikeouts in a game this season, the River Hawks hold a 5-4 record. 

ETCHING HIS NAME IN THE RECORD BOOK 
In game two of the doubleheader against Bryant on Friday, March 28, Holland was dominant on the bump, striking out 11 batters to tie the River Hawks' Division I single-game record, matching Matt Draper's effort from March 4, 2023 against James Madison. 

FIRST COLLEGIATE HOME RUN 
Last week, freshman Brayden Cali (Taunton, Mass.) and Angelo each recorded the first home runs of their college careers, as Cali hit one versus Merrimack on Tuesday and Angelo knocked one out against Bryant on Friday. The last time two freshmen hit their first homer in the same week was when former River Hawk Jacob Humphrey recorded a home run on February 25, 2022, at North Carolina A&T, and Fish posted one the next day, also against North Carolina A&T. 

CRACKING THE LEADERBOARD 
Remaining on the NCAA leaderboard, Luccini is currently tied for 11th in triples (5) and tied for 16th in triples per game (.13). 

AE OVERALL PLAYER STATISTICAL RANKS
The River Hawks are all over the America East leaderboard, with Fish tied in fifth in batting average (.357) and hits (46), as well as tied for third in doubles (13) and triples (2). Luccini has made his mark in the conference, sitting in sixth for slugging percentage (.611) and doubles (12), tied for fourth in OPS (1.045), tied in third for runs (34), while ranking third in hits (48) and first for triples (5). 

Dirito owns third in the conference in earned run average (4.19). Holland is tied for third in innings pitched (50.1) with sophomore Alfred Mucciarone (Franklin, Mass.) right behind him, sitting tied for fifth (48.2). Holland also ranks third in strikeouts (50), with Mucciarone one spot behind in fourth (46). Dirito is tied in third for wins in the America East (4) and alone in third for saves (4). 

SCOUTING BOSTON COLLEGE
The Eagles enter Wednesday's ball game against UMass Lowell coming off a 7-5 victory on Saturday at Wake Forest, placing the team at a 19-20 overall record. Junior Josiah Ragsdale has been strong offensively, tallying 44 hits, 21 RBI, and 40 runs with nine doubles, five triples and three home runs. Graduate student Patrick Roche has also been effective, registering 43 hits, 29 RBI and 32 runs while posting a .326 batting average. Leading the way for the Eagles on the mound, graduate student Joey Ryan has thrown 27.2 innings with 32 strikeouts, posting an earned run average of 2.93. 

SCOUTING BINGHAMTON
After sweeping the weekend series against America East opponent NJIT, the Bearcats enter this week with an 18-17 overall record and an 8-7 conference record, so far. Freshman Matt Bolton has stood out, recording 52 hits, 19 RBI, and 40 runs with nine doubles and five home runs. Senior Devan Bade has tallied 45 hits, 34 RBI, and 34 runs with eight doubles and eight home runs. Taking the mound for Binghamton, sophomore Hayden Tarsia has tossed 36.1 innings, striking out 36 batters while recording a 5.94 earned run average. 

MATCHUP HISTORY
The River Hawks fell in the most recent matchup against Boston College, 3-1, on Tuesday, April 8, as the all-time record against the Eagles is now 2-6. 

The all-time series versus Binghamton sits at a 15-23 overall record in the Division I era, with the River Hawks grabbing a 17-4 outcome during the last meeting against the Bearcats. The River Hawks are currently on a two-game winning streak over Binghamton, while also owning a 10-4 home record when facing the Bearcats.