BALTIMORE, Md. – Senior Zachary Scott (Lunenburg, Mass.) tallied two hits, as the UMass Lowell baseball team (14–19, 5–8 AE) fell 13–0 in seven innings against UMBC (17–15, 6–4 AE) in game one of the series at Alumni Field on Friday.
"We came out flat everywhere today," said Head Coach Nick Barese. "Pitching, defense, offense, we didn't execute. Fortunately we get to come back tomorrow and compete to even things up. I have a lot of confidence in this group to come out much better in game two."
Freshman Cal Chance (Wolcott, Conn.), graduate student Nicholas Solorzano (El Dorado Hills, Calif.), junior Rowan Masse (Manchester, Conn.), and sophomore Brayden Cali (Taunton, Mass.) each posted a hit in the game. Starting for the River Hawks on the mound, junior Alfred Mucciarone (Franklin, Mass.) pitched 3.1 innings. Out of the bullpen, graduate student Frankie DeMaro (Newburgh, N.Y.) went 0.2 innings with a strikeout, while freshman Christopher Klueber (Bourne, Mass.) tossed 2.0 innings with two strikeouts and zero earned runs allowed.
The game began with the River Hawks recording a base hit from Chance in the opening inning, but the Retrievers closed the frame shortly after with a flyout. UMBC stepped to the plate in the bottom half, posting three home runs to jump out to an early 7–0 lead. UMass Lowell entered the visitors' half of the second with a pair of one-out singles by Solorzano and Masse. However, UMBC stranded both runners and left the score unchanged, but Mucciarone responded well on the bump, setting up three groundouts to head to the third inning. Although the River Hawks knocked two more base hits in the third inning, this time from Scott and Cali, the Retrievers' defense once again stood strong, keeping the River Hawks off the board. In the fourth, UMBC scored four more runs to push its lead to eleven, 11–0, before Demaro threw a swinging strikeout to close the inning.
UMass Lowell kept fighting in the contest, but the Retrievers had the edge, as the home side added a two-run double, stretching their lead to 13–0. Looking to kick start the offense, Scott recorded his second single of the game on a leadoff hit in the sixth. UMBC, however, remained locked in on the field, collecting three straight outs. Klueber worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth, finishing the frame with a swing and a miss, sending the visitors back to the plate. The River Hawks, looking to get on the board, put two in scoring position in the top of the seventh, but the Retrievers recorded the final out to seal a 13–0, seven-inning outcome on Friday night.
The River Hawks are back Saturday, April 18, when they matchup against UMBC for game two of the series in Baltimore, Md. The first pitch is set to start at 3:00 p.m. at Alumni Field.
