LAWRENCE, Mass. – Junior Scott Donahue (Medfield, Mass.) knocked a double with two RBI and a run, as the UMass Lowell baseball team (8-12, 1-2 America East) went up early, but fell in a midweek contest, 11–4, at Merrimack on Tuesday afternoon.
"We cant continue having seven-run innings," said Head Coach Nick Barese. "Right now we are struggling to work through adversity and play mentally tough baseball. Ultimately, I need to do a better job of putting our guys in positions to be successful."
Senior Carlos Martinez (Coamo, Puerto Rico), graduate student Jorge Burgos (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic), and freshman Tyler McKillop (Blue Point, N.Y.) each tallied a hit and a run in the contest. Starting on the mound, freshman Tyler Dunlea (Attleboro, Mass.) went 2.0 innings in his outing, while freshman Seamus Scott (Lowell, Mass.) made his first collegiate appearance on the bump today, pitching 3.1 innings with two strikeouts and no runs.
After a short first inning with no hits or runs for either side, the River Hawks started to click offensively in the second, as Martinez and Burgos knocked singles before scoring on a double to right-center by Donahue. Moments later, Donahue then scored when the junior bolted home on a wild pitch, giving the River Hawks a 3–0 advantage. Merrimack responded right away, though, recording seven runs on four hits in the home half of the second to go up, 7–3. A scoreless third and fourth inning followed, as junior Evan Cornelius (Milford, Mass.) allowed just one hit on the mound for the River Hawks in that span. However, in the fifth frame, the Warriors plated four more runs to pull away, 11–3.
The River Hawks put two runners on base in the visitors half of the sixth after freshman Tyler Kisling (New Milford, Conn.) was hit by a pitch and Donahue drew a walk. Merrimack was able to extinguish the opportunity, though, before Scott resumed his outing, tossing two strikeouts in the bottom of the inning. Hoping to ignite a late rally, McKillop led the seventh off with a double and later crossed the plate on freshman Cal Chance's (Wolcott, Conn.) RBI groundout to second to get one run back, 11–4. Scott stayed in rhythm on the bump, closing out the seventh with a ground-ball double play. The River Hawks made one last push in the final innings, as sophomore Brayden Cali (Taunton, Mass.) and freshman Hector Gonzalez (Liverpool, N.Y.) reached base on walks in the eighth, but Merrimack went on to seal an 11–4 decision on Tuesday afternoon.
The River Hawks are back in action tomorrow, March 25, for their home opener against Northeastern at Edward A. LeLacheur Park in Lowell, Mass. The first pitch is set for 4 p.m.
