LOWELL, Mass. – Redshirt-sophomore Sean O'Leary (Foxboro, Mass.) had an exceptional day at the plate, going 4-for-5 with two homers and a double, while also recording four runs and four RBI, as the UMass Lowell baseball team (14–18, 5–7 AE) exploded for a 20–10 victory in eight innings against Stonehill (13-18) at Edward A. LeLacheur Park on Tuesday afternoon.
UMass Lowell totaled 20 runs on 20 hits in the game, marking its highest-scoring performance since April 19, 2022, when the River Hawks erupted for 29 runs at Bryant. Freshman Cal Chance (Wolcott, Conn.) tied the UMass Lowell Division I single-game hits record for the second time this season, knocking five in his six plate appearances with four runs and four RBI in the contest. Senior Carlos Martinez (Coamo, Puerto Rico) was also great at the plate, hitting 3-for-6 with three RBI and a run, while also recording a save in 1.0 inning of work. Starting on the mound, junior Evan Cornelius (Milford, Mass.) pitched 2.2 innings in the contest, while freshman Tyler Dunlea (Attleboro, Mass.) earned the first victory of his collegiate career, going an inning and leaving the opposition hitless and scoreless.
The River Hawks closed the top of the first on a double play and carried the momentum into their first at-bat. Sophomore Brayden Cali (Taunton, Mass.) reached on a walk and Chance singled to right. Cali eventually stole second and third before running his way home to put his side on top, 1–0. Chance then took advantage of an error to score another run.
In the second, the River Hawks logged another defensive double play before heading back to the plate. Senior Joseph DeLanzo (Nutley, N.J.) stepped up with one out and knocked a double and junior Ryan Strand (Goffstown, N.H.) gave the senior enough time to cross the dish on an RBI single. After Strand stole second, O'Leary sent the ball over the wall in left-center to make it 5–0 links favor of UMass Lowell. Martinez followed in the same inning, adding a one-run single to push the score to 6–0 after two frames. The Skyhawks responded in the third, though, posting three runs to cut the difference in half, 6–3.
In the fourth, freshman Colin Ducie (Plymouth, Mass.) struck out the first batter he faced. UMass Lowell loaded the bases right away in the home half of the inning and Strand scored on a wild pitch. Chance followed with a base hit up the middle, plating two more runs for a 9–3 lead. The River Hawks would tally two more runs in the fourth, as junior Scott Donahue (Medfield, Mass.) floated the ball to left field for an RBI double and junior Rowan Masse (Manchester, Conn.) knocked a single to drive in a run, making it 11–3. Stonehill answered with four runs in the fifth to drop the deficit to four, 11–7. The River Hawks were unfazed, though, as O'Leary's second home run of the game, and a one-run single through the right side by Chance extended the difference to 13–7.
Although the Skyhawks registered a three-run homer in the sixth, senior Liam Rose (Voorhees, N.J.) was able to get UMass Lowell out of the inning with a punchout. Dunlea made the seventh quick after the freshman set up three consecutive outs. Martinez came in during the eighth as the closer and overcame the opposition effortlessly with three groundouts to leave the score unchanged. Carrying on its aggressive play, UMass Lowell led off the bottom of the eighth with a double from Chance before scoring on an RBI from Martinez. The River Hawks then filled the bases, tacking on a run from an RBI single by Masse and two more on a base hit by DeLanzo to stretch the difference to 17–10. O'Leary then added his fourth RBI of the game with a double to left, and one-run singles from Chance and Martinez stretched the lead to 20–10, securing a run-rule win in eight innings over Stonehill on Tuesday afternoon.
The River Hawks return on Friday, April 17, when the team travels to UMBC for a conference series in Baltimore, Md. The first pitch for game one is set for 6 p.m. at Alumni Field.
