TOWSON, Md. – The UMass Lowell softball team (6–7) split a pair of games to open the Towson Tiger Invite on Friday at Tiger Softball Stadium. The River Hawks earned a 9–2 victory over Central Connecticut in the morning before falling to host Towson, 4–0, in the afternoon contest.
"We saw two really strong pitching performances today," said head coach Jen Starek. "Our bats came through with timely hitting in the first game, and it was good to get back into the groove of playing. Hopefully we can carry that momentum into tomorrow!"
Freshman catcher Julia Rowley (Beacon Falls, Conn.) paced the River Hawks offensively, going 4-for-7 across the two games with four RBI and a triple. Junior infielder Elizabeth Neeld (Huntingdon Valley, Pa.) tallied three hits on the day, highlighted by a two-run home run in the opener, while sophomore infielder Emily Baumes (Rexford, N.Y.) reached base multiple times and scored three runs in the first game.
In the circle, junior Olivia DeCitise (Troy, N.Y.) delivered a dominant outing in the win over CCSU, matching her career-high with 13 strikeouts while allowing just three hits in a complete-game effort. Senior pitcher Giana LaCedra (Tyngsborough, Mass.) also turned in a strong performance in the second game, allowing just three hits and striking out seven across six innings, with all four runs scoring unearned.
Game 1: UMass Lowell 9, CCSU 2
The River Hawks struck early in the bottom of the first. Baumes reached on a walk before Rowley drove her in with a triple to right center. Junior Isabel Quintanilla (Puyallup, Wash.) later added a sacrifice fly to give Lowell a 2–0 lead.
After two scoreless innings, the River Hawks extended the margin in the third when Neeld launched a two-run home run down the left field line to make it 4–0.
Lowell continued to build momentum in the fourth. Baumes doubled to start the inning before an RBI single from sophomore Avery Spinello-Branch (Lorton, Va.) and another run-scoring hit from Rowley stretched the advantage to 6–0.
Central Connecticut pushed across two runs in the fifth, but the River Hawks quickly answered in the bottom half. A bases-loaded hit-by-pitch brought in a run before Rowley lined a two-run single up the middle to cap a three-run inning and give Lowell a 9–2 lead.
DeCitise closed out the game from there to secure the complete-game victory.
Game 2: UMass Lowell 0, Towson 4
The afternoon matchup remained scoreless through the first three innings as both teams traded strong pitching performances.
Towson broke through in the fourth inning. After putting two runners on base, the Tigers capitalized on a River Hawk error to score two runs before adding an RBI triple to extend the lead to 3–0.
UMass Lowell threatened in the sixth when sophomore outfielder Thyanais Santiago (Methuen, Mass.) drew a walk and Baumes followed with a single to put two runners aboard, but Towson escaped the inning without allowing a run.
The Tigers added an insurance run in the sixth and held the River Hawks to just two hits to secure the 4–0 decision.
Up Next
The River Hawks continue play at the Towson Tiger Invite tomorrow morning when they face Coppin State at 10 a.m.
