LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell baseball team (12-18) wraps up the six-game road trip when they visit the Boston College Eagles (13-17) on Tuesday before returning home for a weekend series against the UMBC Retrievers (11-14), beginning on Friday, April 11.
LAST TIME OUT
The River Hawks went 2-3 this past week, starting with two midweek games. The squad earned its first win on the week on Wednesday, taking down Stonehill, 6-3. Senior Brandon Fish (Londonderry, N.H.) tallied two hits, two RBI, and one run, with freshman Brayden Cali (Taunton, Mass.) adding two hits, including a double, and two runs in the victory over the Skyhawks. The River Hawks then opened the weekend series against Maine with an 8-5 win, as senior Conor Kelly (Hopkinton, Mass.) had a successful day at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one RBI and three runs. Sophomore Alfred Mucciarone (Franklin, Mass.) went 7.0 innings on the mound, earning three strikeouts and the win, while redshirt-sophomore Nick Dirito (Plymouth, Mass.) collected two strikeouts in one inning of work to earn the save. In the series finale, Maine earned a 3-2 victory over the River Hawks to take the overall series, 2-1. Junior Carlos Martinez (Coamo, Puerto Rico) went 2-for-3 at the plate with one home run in the series finale.
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 30 games, Fish continues to dominate at the plate, leading the team with a .402 batting average, 39 hits, 11 doubles, and 23 RBI. Sophomore Sean O'Leary (Foxboro, Mass.) totals a 1.168 OPS, a .706 slugging percentage and a .462 on-base percentage, pacing the squad in all three categories. Senior Alex Luccini (Hopedale, Mass.) ranks first in runs (28), triples (5) and home runs (6), while junior Zachary Scott (Lunenburg, Mass.) leads the team with nine stolen bases.
On the mound, Dirito leads the pitchers in earned run average (3.04) and sits in first with a team-high four saves. Junior Brian Foley (Milton, Mass.) has the most wins on the season with three, while redshirt junior Brendan Holland (North Andover, Mass.) paces the pitching staff with 41.1 innings pitched alongside a team-high 45 batters struck out.
HIT INTO PLAY
The River Hawks have posted 15 games this season with 10+ hits, including posting 10 hits against Dartmouth and 11 in game one against Maine last week. The team's overall record in those 15 games is 9-6. The River Hawks posted a season high 21 knocks versus Lafayette on Sunday, March 9.
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.
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.
100 CAREER HITS
During Friday's game against Maine, Kelly ripped a single to left field in his first at bat of the game, the 100th career hit of his collegiate career.
BACK-TO-BACK RBI TRIPLE
Last week, Luccini tallied RBI triples in back-to-back games against Stonehill on April 2 and Maine on April 4. The last player to do such was Luccini himself in 2023, doing it against Merrimack on April 18 and the next day against Rhode Island.
MULTIPLE HOMERS IN A GAME
This season, the River Hawks have recorded three games with multiple batters hitting a home run in a game. The first came on February 28 against USC Upstate, when sophomore Scott Donahue (Medfield, Mass.), Luccini and Martinez hit a home run in the contest. On Sunday, the River Hawks did it again, this time with Fish and Martinez posting a homer against Maine.
CRACKING THE LEADERBOARD
Continuing to rake at the plate, Luccini and Fish both find themselves on the NCAA leaderboards. Luccini is currently ranked tied for fifth in triples (5) and fifth in triples per game (.17), while Fish sits 46th in doubles per game (.42).
AE OVERALL PLAYER STATISTICAL RANKS
The River Hawks find themselves all over the America East leaderboards, with Fish leading the way, sitting second in the conference in batting average (.402), fifth in slugging percentage (.643), third in OPS (1.073), fourth in hits (39) and tied for first in doubles (11). Luccini, meanwhile, ranks third in slugging percentage (.643), fourth in OPS (1.063), fourth in runs (28), tied third in home runs (6) and first in triples (5). Rounding things out, Martinez sits tied for fifth in hits (38).
Holland has thrown the fourth most innings in the America East (41.1), while boasting the most strikeouts (45), so far. Dirito is sitting in third for saves (4).
SCOUTING BOSTON COLLEGE
Boston College enters Tuesday's match coming off a 12-1 loss to #18 Louisville. Junior Josiah Ragsdale leads the Eagles offense, tallying 35 hits, 19 RBI, 28 runs, eight doubles, three triples and two homers on a .324 batting average. Alongside Ragsdale, graduate student Patrick Roche totals 33 hits, 27 RBI, 24 runs with three doubles and three home runs. AJ Colarusso leads the way for the Eagles' pitching staff, posting a 6.89 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 31.1 innings thrown.
SCOUTING UMBC
Before the weekend series in Lowell, UMBC plays host to George Washington on Tuesday afternoon. Redshirt-sophomore Leewood Molessage leads the way for the Retriever offense, recording 25 hits, 29 RBI, 16 runs with five doubles and nine home runs. Behind him, sophomore Jesiah Carpenter totals a .323 batting average on 30 hits, while adding 13 RBI, and 25 runs.
MATCHUP HISTORY
The River Hawks have a 2-5 overall record against Boston College, with UMass Lowell winning the most recent game, 7-6, on April 30, 2024. In the last three meetings, the River Hawks hold a 2-1 record.
During the series this season, UMBC grabbed two wins at home, with UMass Lowell earning the victory in the most recent contest on March 15, against the Retrievers, 4-3. The River Hawks hold a 23-18 all-time record against UMBC.
