LOWELL, Mass. – Senior Brandon Fish (Londonderry, N.H.) went 4-for-5 at the plate, as the UMass Lowell baseball team (17-28, 8-12 AE) dropped game two against the UAlbany Great Danes (15-27, 5-12 AE), 12-8, on Saturday afternoon.
Fish added two doubles, one RBI and two runs to his stat line for the day. Junior Carlos Martinez (Coamo, Puerto Rico) recorded two hits and two runs, as well, while sophomore Scott Donahue (Medfield, Mass.) knocked two doubles, as well.
Redshirt-Junior Brendan Holland (North Andover, Mass.) got the start up on the bump, pitching 6.0 innings and tallying four strikeouts. Freshman Nolan Geisler (Bayonne, N.J.) went 2.0 innings with two strikeouts.
The Great Danes started hot, as a home run to right field led off game two. An RBI double and single would follow, creating an early 3-0 lead. The River Hawks kicked off the home half of the first with senior Alex Luccini (Hopedale, Mass.) drawing a walk and stealing second. After stealing third, Luccini took advantage of an error by the catcher, tagging home for the team's first run of the game to cut the difference to 3-1.
Holland made work of the opposition over the next two innings, adding his second strikeout of the game, while retiring five straight batters. At the plate in the third, the River Hawks put a baserunner on following a hit by a pitch, but were not able to add any more.
The visitors began the fourth with a batter reaching on a walk before the home side collected three straight outs, setting the River Hawks up for their chance to comeback. The home half of the fourth commenced with Martinez hitting a lead off single, as Fish followed with a one-out RBI double to make it 3-2. Fish then took third on a wild pitch before sophomore Rowan Masse (Manchester, Ct.) knocked a single to score Fish and tie the game at 3-3. After senior Jake Fitzgibbons (Franklin, Mass.) walked to put two on base, freshman Brayden Cali (Taunton, Mass.) capitalized on the situation, cracking a two-run single to left field, giving the River Hawks their first lead of the game, 5-3.
The River Hawks kept the momentum going in the fifth, loading the bases on a pair of singles and a hit by pitch. A fielder's choice from Masse and a bunted single by Fitzgibbons stretched the lead for UMass Lowell to 7-3. In the sixth, both sides went three up and three down, as Holland registered back-to-back strikeouts on the hill.
Taking over on the mound, Geisler set up a 1-2-3 inning for the visitors in both the seventh and eighth, grabbing two strikeouts over the frames. Looking to extend their lead, the River Hawks started the bottom of the eighth with Fitzgibbons beating the full count to walk. The visitors gathered two outs directly after, but senior Conor Kelly (Hopkinton, Mass.) wasted no time, cracking an RBI single to right center for a five-run lead, 8-3.
With one final inning, the Great Danes remained locked in, as the visitors collected nine runs from three hits to pull in front, 12-8. Although Fish hit a single, eventually making it home on an RBI groundout, the River Hawks were not able to create a last-chance rally, sealing the 12-9 victory.
The River Hawks look ahead to the final matchup against the Great Danes tomorrow, May 4, in Lowell, Mass. The first pitch is set to start at 12 p.m. at Edward A. LeLacheur Park.
