PORT CHARLOTTE, Fl. – Freshman Cal Chance (Wolcott, Conn.) posted one hit and one RBI, as the UMass Lowell baseball team (1-3) fell in its first matchup of the Snowbird Baseball Classic against Illinois State (4-1), 12-1, at Centennial Park on Friday morning.
"The game got away from us in the sixth," said Head Coach Nick Barese. "I thought Mucciarone pitched well enough to give us a shot. We weren't sharp enough defensively, and when we're 0-9 with RISP, it's hard to stay in it."
Senior Joseph DeLanzo (Nutley, N.J.) and senior Carlos Martinez (Coamo, Puerto Rico) both tallied a double in the contest, while graduate student Jorge Burgos (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) added a run. On the mound, junior Alfred Mucciarone (Franklin, Mass.) got the start, pitching 5.0 innings with three strikeouts. Freshman Christopher Klueber (Bourne, Mass.) went 2.0 innings, collecting three strikeouts.
The Redbirds jumped out in front early, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first after a score on a wild pitch, but Mucciarone kept his composure, striking out a batter to end the inning. The River Hawks started to see momentum offensively in the second, loading the bases after a leadoff double from Martinez, followed by Burgos and junior Ryan Strand (Goffstown, N.H.) both reaching base via a hit by pitch. Illinois State escaped the situation, though, keeping a 1-0 lead through two innings. The visitors then extended their lead in the third with a two-run home run to make it 3-0.
Illinois State added another run in the top of the fourth before the River Hawks had a runner in scoring position again in the bottom half. Chance took advantage of the opportunity, as the freshman recorded an RBI, driving in Burgos and posting the first run of the game for UMass Lowell, cutting the deficit to 4-1. Mucciarone responded well on the mound after a leadoff hit in the fifth, tallying two more strikeouts to bring the River Hawks back to the plate. The Redbirds stayed locked in, using a strong sixth inning to extend the lead to 10-1.
Klueber pitched well in the seventh, tallying three big strikeouts, as UMass Lowell searched for a late rally over Illinois State with only a few frames left. The Redbirds, however, fought back any comeback opportunities while adding two more runs in the eighth, sealing the 12-1 final score.
The River Hawks look ahead to Saturday, February 21, when the team matches up against Miami (Ohio) in their second game of the Snowbird Baseball Classic at 7:00 p.m. at Centennial Park in Port Charlotte, Florida.
