LOWELL, Mass. – Senior Carlos Martinez (Coamo, Puerto Rico) knocked a double in today's contest, as the UMass Lowell baseball team (8-13, 1-2 America East) fell to Northeastern (13-10), 6-0, in its first home game of the season on Wednesday afternoon.
"I felt like today we played really timid," said Head Coach Nick Barese. "It almost looked like we were afraid to make any mistake, which that's hence why you saw on eight on the error number. When you tend to play passive like that, it's when you make mistakes defensively. It felt like a 6-0 lead in the beginning part of the year for us, we've over come that and been good with that. Today, 6-0 felt like a lot bigger of a mountain to climb. So, the message to the guys after the game is we have to wash this and let it go down the drain, and get ready for a really tough opponent in Maine this weekend."
Freshman Cal Chance (Wolcott, Conn.), junior Scott Donahue (Medfield, Mass.), and senior Joseph DeLanzo (Nutley, N.J.) each tallied a hit during the game. Starting on the bump, freshman Christopher Klueber (Bourne, Mass.) pitched 3.2 innings with a strikeout, as the pitcher allowed just one run and four hits in his outing. Freshman Josh Doney (Lynn, Mass.) and sophomore Jake LeFrancois (Worcester, Mass.) both tallied a strikeout in a hitless inning each.
Although the Huskies drew a walk to open the game, the River Hawks shut it down with a flyout to center, a pickoff at second by Chance, and a strikeout from Klueber to end the top of the first. Northeastern followed in the second inning by posting the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly for a 1–0 lead. The score remained unchanged in the third, as Klueber kept the same intensity on the mound, escaping a bases-loaded situation with a groundout to the shortstop. Despite not being able to get a run across the plate, the River Hawks' defense stayed steady through four innings to keep it a one-score game.
Taking over on the mound with two outs in the visitors' half of the fourth, graduate student Frankie DeMaro (Newburgh, N.Y.) entered for Klueber and was quick to get the third out, picking off the runner at first base. The Huskies, however, refused to be shut down again, adding two runs an inning later, stretching their lead to 3-0. Looking to help his squad respond, Martinez opened the bottom of the fifth with a double, while Donahue added a one-out single put runners on the corners for the hosts. Despite facing adversity, the Huskies locked in defensively, getting a pair of outs to keep the score the same through five.
Taking over on the mound in the sixth, Doney retired the side in order, racking up a swinging strikeout to wrap up the top half of the frame. An inning later, Northeastern used a solo shot to extend the difference to four runs, and although the River Hawks moved a runner into scoring position in the home half of the seventh, they were unable to get him home. Putting together a strong showing on the mound, LeFrancois made quick work of the opposition, striking out the first batter faced before two flyouts helped end the top of the eighth. Looking to pull off a comeback, DeLanzo and Chance each stroked singles in the eighth, but Northeastern stranded the runners before adding two more runs in the ninth, sealing the 6–0 outcome in the home opener on Wednesday afternoon.
The River Hawks look ahead to a three-game weekend series against Maine in Lowell, Mass., with the opening game on Friday, March 27. The first pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Edward A. LeLacheur Park.
