LOWELL, Mass. – The No. 5 seeded UMass Lowell softball team (17-27, 7-13 AE) travels to Vestal, N.Y. to compete in the 2025 America East Championship this week. The River Hawks begin postseason play against No. 4 Bryant (18-30, 10-10 AE) on Wednesday, May 7, at 11 a.m. at the Bearcats Softball Complex on the campus of Binghamton University.

AE Playoff Picture
The River Hawks enter this season's conference tournament as the five seed. If UMass Lowell wins its first game, the team will move on to play Thursday against No. 1 Binghamton. If the team were to fall in game one of the double-elimination event, the River Hawks would play the loser of No. 3 UAlbany versus No. 6 Maine on Wednesday with that winner advancing to Thursday.
In last year's America East Championship, UMass Lowell was also seeded fifth, reaching the title game before falling to top-seeded UAlbany in a 4-0 outcome.

Series History
The River Hawks are 8-12 all-time against Bryant. The Bulldogs grabbed two wins in a three-game series againstsdAS the River Hawks earlier this season.

Last Time Out for the River Hawks
UMass Lowell faced UMBC during its final series of the 2025 regular season. After facing a tough doubleheader setback on Friday, May 2, the River Hawks responded the following day with a 5-0 decision to end the regular season. Senior Jen Slanovec (Bethlehem, Pa.) threw a season-high seven innings, while also recording three strikeouts in game one of the doubleheader against UMBC. Sophomore Elizabeth Neeld (Huntingdon Valley, Pa.) posted one hit, one RBI and one run in the 9-2 result in game two of the twin bill, while junior Giana LaCedra (Tyngsboro, Mass.) pitched seven innings in the circle with three strikeouts in that outing. In the final game of the series, sophomore Olivia DeCitise (Troy, N.Y.) totaled 11 strikeouts over 5.2 innings with no earned runs. Offensively, freshman Madi Wade (Hagerstown, Md.) went 2-for-2 with two RBI and one run.

2025 All-Conference Honors
Freshmen Avery Spinello-Branch (Lorton, Va.), Thyanais Santiago (Methuen, Mass.) and Emily Baumes (Rexford, N.Y.) were all named to both the America East All-Conference Second Team and the America East All-Rookie Team.

Leading UMass Lowell
Baumes leads the team with a .316 batting average through 133 at-bats with a .383 slugging percentage and a .420 on-base percentage. She has totaled 42 hits with 17 RBI. DeCitise registers a 3.56 ERA through 118.2 innings pitched. She holds a 10-9 record with 122 strikeouts this season.

Extra Extra
Freshman Avery Spinello-Branch (Lorton, Va.) guides the team on base paths with 19 stolen bases. With one steal on Friday, May 2 against UMBC, Spinello-Branch set a new DI single-season record for stolen bases, surpassing Ally Greene, who collected 18 in 2015.

Patience at the Plate
Freshman Kate Hardy (Alexandria, Va.) leads the River Hawks in walks with 19.

100 Career Hits
On Friday against UMBC in her second at-bat of game one, Tow knocked a triple to left center for her 100th career hit.

100 Career Strikeouts
Slanovec added two early strikeouts in game one of the doubleheader on Friday against UMBC, earning the pitcher her 100th strikeout of her college career. 

America East Rankings
UMass Lowell finished fifth in the America East with a 7-13 conference record. Spinello-Branch ranks first in the league for sac bunts with nine and second for stolen bases with 19. Tow is tied for fifth in the conference in triples with two. Baumes ranks eighth in the conference for on-base percentage with a .420 average and seventh for hits with 42. LaCedra ranks fifth in innings pitched with 117.2 and tied for second in saves with two. DeCitise sits at fourth for innings pitched with 118.2 and third for strikeouts with 122. They both sit in the top five for earned run average, with DeCitise in third (2.77) and LaCedra in seventh (3.45).

Scouting the Bulldogs
Bryant ended its regular season with a 2-1 series victory over Maine this past weekend. The team stands at fourth in the conference with a 10-10 record.
Sophomore Sam Rohwer leads the team with a .353 batting average and an OPS of 1.056 with 47 hits, 38 RBI and 28 runs. Senior Meaghan Houk has boasted a .345 batting average with 39 hits, 33 RBI and 25 runs. In the circle, freshman Maddy Wachter has posted a 3.30 earned run average, while tossing a team-high 87 innings with 57 strikeouts.