LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell baseball team (17-32, 8-13 AE) travels to Rhode Island (33-18) to finish non-conference play on Tuesday, May 13, before heading down to NJIT (24-24, 11-10 AE) for the final weekend series of the season, beginning on Thursday, May 15.
LAST TIME OUT
The River Hawks enter the final week after going 0-3 the previous week. Matching up against Northeastern for a midweek game, senior Alex Luccini (Hopedale, Mass.) went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and one run in the 9-3 decision. This past Saturday, the River Hawks held a Senior Day celebration prior to the matchup against Boston College. Luccini stepped up against the Eagles, posting a hit, two RBI, and one run, but the River Hawks faced an 8-3 setback on Saturday night. In the final home game of the season, junior Carlos Martinez (Coamo, Puerto Rico) and sophomore Ryan Strand (Goffstown, N.H.) each tallied a double against Boston College, but fell in a 5-0 outcome.
LEADING THE FLOCK
With one week remaining in the regular season, senior Brandon Fish (Londonderry, N.H.) ranks first on the team in batting average (.331), hits (56), doubles (17), and RBI (33). Luccini sits at the top in OPS (.943), runs (39), triples (5), slugging percentage (.536), and stolen bases (15). Sophomore River Hart (Nashua, N.H.) leads the team in home runs with nine. Senior Conor Kelly (Hopkinton, Mass.) ranks first in on-base percentage at .409.
Redshirt sophomore Nick Dirito (Plymouth, Mass.) leads the team in earned run average (3.74) and WHIP (1.47), while tallying the most wins (5). Dirito is also tied for the lead in saves (4) on the team with graduate student Dylan Bedder (New Providence, N.J.). Redshirt junior Brendan Holland (North Andover, Mass.) has added a team-high 64 strikeouts, with sophomore Alfred Mucciarone (Franklin, Mass.) totaling the most innings pitched (67.1) by a River Hawk.
HIT INTO PLAY
The River Hawks have tallied 20 games this season with 10+ hits. The team's overall record in those 20 games is 11-9. The River Hawks posted a season-high 21 knocks versus Lafayette on Sunday, March 9. UMass Lowell is 15-12 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 registering 10+ strikeouts in a game this season, the River Hawks hold a 7-4 record.
100 CAREER STRIKEOUTS
This past Sunday, Holland earned the start on the bump against Boston College. In the first inning, he struck out the third batter faced, marking the pitcher's 100th strikeout of his collegiate career.
CRACKING THE LEADERBOARD
Luccini has been ranked on the Division I leaderboard all season, as the outfielder is currently tied for 14th in triples (5) and tied for 35th in triples per game (.10).
AE OVERALL PLAYER STATISTICAL RANKS
Heading into the last week of conference play, Luccini ranks first in triples (5), tied for eighth in runs (39), and tied for ninth in doubles (13) on the America East leaderboard. Fish claims first in doubles (17) and sits in ninth for hits (56) in the conference.
Mucciarone sits in third for innings pitched (67.1), as Holland sits behind him in fifth (65.1). Holland also ranks third in strikeouts (64), with Mucciarone sits one spot behind tied for fourth (58). Dirito is tied for third in wins in the America East (5) and tied for fourth in saves (4) alongside Bedder.
SCOUTING RHODE ISLAND
This past weekend, Rhode Island won all three games of the series against Saint Louis, improving to a 33-18 overall record. Junior Jack Hopko sticks out on the Rams' offense, tallying a team-high 74 RBI on 68 hits and a .351 batting average, with 49 runs, six doubles, and 14 home runs. Also leading the offense, senior Anthony DePino registers 65 hits, 48 RBI, and 72 runs with a team-high 17 doubles and 16 home runs. On the mound, graduate student Trystan Levesque has recorded a 3.27 earned run average and a 1.16 WHIP with 78 strikeouts in 77.0 innings pitched.
SCOUTING NJIT
The Highlanders dropped this past weekend's series against Bryant, 2-1. NJIT now stands at 24-24 overall with an 11-10 record in the America East. Graduate student Ray Ortiz has been a key to the offense, adding 63 hits, 39 RBI, and 56 runs with 16 doubles and 13 home runs. Alongside Ortiz, redshirt sophomore Cole Campbell totals 59 hits, 23 RBI and 37 runs with 10 doubles. Out of the bullpen, graduate student Nate DeSchryver has tossed 48.1 innings, collecting 58 strikeouts and two saves while owning a 5.21 earned run average
MATCHUP HISTORY
In the all-time series between the River Hawks and Rhode Island, the Rams hold an 8-2 record. The most recent matchup occurred on April 19, 2023, when UMass Lowell earned a 12-6 victory over the Rams.
The River Hawks and NJIT have met 18 different times, with the Highlanders owning a 10-8 all-time series record over UMass Lowell. The last time the two teams faced was in the 2024 America East Playoffs, when the Highlanders earned an 8-6 victory. The two sides have been incredibly even in recent matchups, as both sides have five wins in the last ten games.
