LOWELL, Mass. – Senior Joseph DeLanzo (Nutley, N.J.) went 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI in today's contest, as the UMass Lowell baseball team (9-15, 2-4 AE) dropped the final game of the series against Maine (5-20, 3-3 AE), 10–6, at Edward A. LeLacheur Park on Sunday afternoon.
"I think conference play is where you kind of show your true colors, and it's a really good test for how the season should go," said Head Coach Nick Barese. "Not only have we lost two series in a row, but the more disappointing thing is we've won on Friday and then managed to drop the next two games in both weekends. I thought today, Jette was great and he did everything we asked of him. He was fantastic and was more than what we thought. LeFrancois was fine too, and we can sit here and look at the ninth inning all we want, but ultimately there were some early runs they were able to scrap across because again, poor defense on our parts. Then it felt like in the middle innings there offensively we had a lot of opportunities to kind of break things open and we just didn't. We couldn't get a big hit with runners on base in the middle innings, and we had a chance to separate. We had a chance to completely open up the ballgame, and we failed to do it."
Graduate student Nicholas Solorzano (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) also went 2-for-4 with a run, while redshirt-sophomore Sean O'Leary (Foxboro, Mass.) and junior Scott Donahue (Medfield, Mass.) each recorded a hit, two RBI, and a run in today's game. Senior Jacob Jette (Franklin, Mass.) got the start, going 6.0 innings with a career-high six strikeouts and just two earned runs allowed, while sophomore Jake LeFrancois (Worcester, Mass.) pitched 2.0 innings with three strikeouts.
After Jette led a 1-2-3 inning in the top half of the first, ending on a strikeout, the River Hawks got into rhythm right away, with freshman Cal Chance (Wolcott, Conn.) leading off with a walk before junior Rowan Masse (Manchester, Conn.) ripped a double. With two on base, O'Leary and senior Carlos Martinez (Coamo, Puerto Rico) both added an RBI, giving the River Hawks an early 2–0 lead. After a clean second inning for both sides, the Black Bears got back into the game in the third, scoring two runs to even the score at 2–2. Jette, however, settled back in, tossing three consecutive strikeouts to wrap up the inning.
Chance looked to get the River Hawks back on track after leading off the home half of the third with a single, before stealing a base and advancing to third on an error. With one out, O'Leary clutched up, knocking a two-strike single to center field, driving in a run for UMass Lowell in the third. Following in the order, Donahue helped record two more runs after capitalizing on a two-out situation with a single, before DeLanzo followed up with an RBI single, making it a four-run difference, 6–2, after three complete innings.
The fourth inning flew by for both sides, as the score stayed the same thanks to another strong inning from Jette, who ended the top half with a swinging strikeout. In the fifth, UMass Lowell looked to extend its lead, drawing two walks before DeLanzo lined a single to left field to load the bases. However, Maine worked out of the fifth and capitalized in the next inning, plating a run on an RBI single to cut the deficit to 6–3.
Entering the seventh, the Black Bears' offense found life, scoring twice to pull within one, 6–5, before LeFrancois fanned a hitter to close the top of the frame. With just two innings left, the eighth moved quickly as both teams were retired in order, with LeFrancois capping off his outing with another strikeout. Running out of time, Maine delivered a five-run ninth-inning rally, securing a 10–6 decision in the series finale on Sunday.
The River Hawks are back at home on Tuesday, March 31, when they host Dartmouth at Edward A. LeLacheur Park. The contest is set to begin at 4 p.m. in Lowell, Mass.
