LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell baseball team (1-2) is traveling to Port Charlotte, Florida for the Snowbird Baseball Classic, taking place at Centennial Park from February 20-22, as the River Hawks match up against Illinois State (3-1), Miami (Ohio) (3-0), and Indiana State (1-3). 

LAST TIME OUT
The River Hawks enter the second week of the season after going 1-2 in the opening weekend at Morehead State. In the first game, graduate student Jorge Burgos (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) put together a strong showing to begin his River Hawk career, going 2-for-4 at the plate with a home run, two RBI, and two runs in a 7-4 victory. Junior Alfred Mucciarone (Franklin, Mass.) started the game, pitching 5.2 innings with five strikeouts and one earned run. Graduate student Frankie DeMaro (Newburgh, N.Y.) threw 2.1 innings, recording four strikeouts on his way to his first victory of the season, as sophomore Jake LeFrancois (Worcester, Mass.) closed the game for the River Hawks, earning the save and two strikeouts. During the doubleheader, senior Carlos Martinez (Coamo, Puerto Rico) posted three hits with a double and a home run, as well as six RBI on the day, but UMass Lowell fell in both contests in a 3-2 outcome and 22-10 result. Senior Brian Foley (Milton, Mass.) was on the mound in the second game of the series, tossing a career-high eight strikeouts in 4.0 innings, allowing just one run during his appearance. 

LEADING THE FLOCK
After the first week, sophomore Rowan Masse (Manchester, Conn.) leads the team in batting average (.375), on-base percentage (.615), on-base plus slugging percentage (1.115), runs (5), steals (1), and walks (4). Martinez ranks first in hits (4), doubles (2), runs batted in (6), and slugging percentage ( .692), while sophomore Sean O'Leary (Foxboro, Mass.) is tied with Martinez and Burgos with one home run each. 

Mucciarone leads the team in earned run average (1.59) and most innings pitched at 5.2. Foley ranks first on the team in strikeouts with eight, while LeFrancois leads the way with one save, and DeMaro leads the team with one win. 

STORMING THE RANKINGS
Foley's strong start to the season has him on the Division I leaderboards, as the senior captain is currently tied for 28th in strikeouts per nine innings with 18 after appearing in four innings, logging eight strikeouts. 

AE OVERALL PLAYER STATISTICAL RANKS
Following the first week of play, Martinez ranks second in the conference in runs batted in (6), fourth in slugging percentage (.692) sixth in OPS (1.049), eighth in hits (4), tied for eighth in batting average (.308) and tied for second in home runs (1) and doubles (2) on the America East leaderboard. 

Burgos and Masse are both tied for eighth in slugging percentage at .500. Burgos is also tied for fifth in runs (3) and runs batted in (2), while sitting tied for second in home runs (1) with O'Leary and Martinez. Masse is tied for first in runs with five in the conference, while also ranking third in on-base percentage (.615), fifth in OPS (1.115), and sixth in batting average (.375). Senior Zachary Scott (Lunenburg, Mass.) claims fourth in runs batted in at three and ninth in on-base percentage at .400. Meanwhile, senior Joshua Lopez (Nanuet, N.Y.) and O'Leary are tied for seventh in runs with two and tied for fifth in runs batted in with two. 

Mucciarone ranks third in innings pitched (5.2), is tied for third in strikeouts (5), and sits fifth in earned run average (1.59). Foley's 2.25 ERA ranks him sixth, while recording the most strikeouts in the conference, so far, at eight, and recording the fourth most innings at 4.0. DeMaro is tied for first in wins (1) and tied for seventh in strikeouts (4) in the America East. LeFrancois is tied for first in saves at one. 

Among all conference teams, UMass Lowell ranks first in fielding percentage at .990. 

SCOUTING ILLINOIS STATE
On Tuesday, the Redbirds took a 9-5 victory over SIUE, improving to 3-1 on the season. Junior Ryan Bakes leads Illinois State in batting average at .462, while recording six hits with a double and two home runs, as well as five runs and three runs batted in. Another key offensive piece, junior Graham Mastros has posted a team-high three home runs and seven runs batted in, along with five hits, two doubles, four runs, to own a 1.389 on-base plus slugging percentage. Out of the bullpen, senior Thomas Harper holds a team-best earned run average at 1.80 in the most innings pitched at 5.0. He has also struck out three batters and owns a 1-0 record. 

SCOUTING MIAMI (OHIO)
The Red Hawks had a dominant opening weekend, earning a sweep over Southern University to own a 3-0 record before this weekend's contests. Redshirt-senior Evan Appelwick is off to a hot start, recording a team-high .500 batting average and a 2.067 on-base plus slugging percentage. The infielder has posted five hits with three home runs, as well as six runs and eight runs batted in. Senior Dominic Krupinski has also been a key player offensively, tallying six hits, including two doubles and one home run, with six runs and six runs batted in. Senior Carson Byers is the pitcher to watch, as the left-hander owns a 1.69 earned run average and a 1-0 record in 5.1 innings pitched with five strikeouts. 

SCOUTING INDIANA STATE
The Sycamores fell in their most recent matchup on Wednesday, as Miami (Fla.) took a 6-2 victory, dropping Indiana State's record to 1-3 on the season. Senior Emil Estrella leads the team in batting average at .375 and hits at six, while also registering three runs, one run batted in, and three doubles. Senior Nick Sutherlin has tallied the most runs batted in (5) and runs (4) on the team, as well as posting four hits with one home run. On the mound, sophomore Ty Brooks has appeared in the most innings so far at 7.0, holding a 2.57 earned run average and a 1-0 record with one strikeout. 

MATCHUP HISTORY
This will be the first time in Division I history that the UMass Lowell Baseball team will be going head-to-head against Illinois State, Miami (Ohio), and Indiana State.