ORONO, Maine – Senior Alex Luccini (Hopedale, Mass.) went 1-for-3 at the plate, as the UMass Lowell baseball team (12-17) dropped game two against the Maine Black Bears (9-20), 10-0, in eight innings on Saturday afternoon. 

"Credit to Maine for how they played today," said Head Coach Nick Barese. "Caleb Leys was really tough, and their offense did a great job with runners in scoring position. I really thought Brendan Holland threw well for us. We just gave away too many opportunities at the plate early in the game and played inconsistent defense behind him." 

Senior Conor Kelly (Hopedale, Mass.) posted one hit in three plate appearances, while sophomore Rowan Masse (Manchester, Conn.) recorded one hit. 

Redshirt-junior Brendan Holland (North Andover, Mass.) started on the mound for the River Hawks, going 5.2 innings with eight strikeouts. Freshman Jake LeFrancois (Worcester, Mass.) earned one strikeout in one inning pitched. 

The River Hawks opened the game with a pair of one out singles, quickly followed by a wild pitch, putting both runners in scoring position. Although the Black Bears were able to work their way out of the jam without allowing a run, Holland made quick work of them in the bottom of the first, posting a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout to send his team back to the plate. In the second inning, Holland picked up right where he left off, striking out the side, before racking up two more strikeouts in the third, keeping the game scoreless. 

After sophomore Scott Donahue (Medfield, Mass.) led off the fourth with a first pitch single, Masse worked the count to full before hitting a single to center field to put runners on first and second. Despite both runners advancing a base due to a wild pitch, Maine's pitcher locked in, getting out of another jam to keep the visitors off the board. In the bottom half of the frame, the hosts had two in scoring position with one out, but Holland didn't budge, fanning the next batter on a 3-2 pitch before forcing a groundout to get out of the inning with the game still knotted up at 0-0. 

In the fifth, the Black Bears started to find life on offense, using a double and a single to put runners on first and second with no outs. Looking to take the lead, Maine used a sacrifice bunt to move the runners up a base, before a sacrifice fly and a single gave them a 2-0 lead after five. In the sixth, the home team stretched their lead, adding three runs to make it a five-run difference. UMass Lowell continued to battle, putting two more runners on in the seventh, but the hosts added one in the seventh and four in the eighth, sealing the 10-0 decision in eight innings. 

The River Hawks are back for one final matchup with the Black Bears tomorrow, April 6. First pitch is scheduled for noon at Mahaney Diamond.