LOWELL, Mass. – Redshirt-sophomore Sean O'Leary (Foxboro, Mass.) was effective at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs, as the UMass Lowell baseball team (11-15, 3-4 AE) kicked off the series strong against UAlbany (4-18, 2-5 AE), capturing a 4–0 victory over the Great Danes on Thursday at Edward A. LeLacheur Park.
"We got some clutch hits when we needed it," said Head Coach Nick Barese. "For sure, you talk about Martinez and O'Leary, and I think Sean O'Leary we are starting to see him really click a little bit offensively, and he's put some really good swings on the ball the last few games. The big thing for me was in less than ideal conditions I thought we played really good defense and our pitching was fantastic. Foley, we had a plan for him to go one time through the lineup, so we could potentially bring him back this weekend. LeFrancois and Geisler did exactly what we needed them to do. Both of them had three or three plus innings, and kept things under control. I thought Geisler was huge with the bases loaded and no one was out, and he gets out of it with a big double play ball. Before the double play, he gets a weak groundball to DeLanzo and gets the runner at home. He just did exactly what we needed him to do, and that's what's made him so good all year. LeFrancois same thing. He comes in and gets big punchouts when he needs it, gets big outs when he needs it. He found himself in a couple of jams there in the middle innings, and just did a really good job. The story for me today was that the pitching was exactly the plan we laid out and they executed the plan."
Senior Carlos Martinez (Coamo, Puerto Rico) knocked two hits in five at-bats with two RBI, while junior Rowan Masse (Manchester, Conn.) also went 2-for-5 at the plate with a run in the contest. Getting the start, senior Brian Foley (Milton, Mass.) pitched 2.1 innings with five strikeouts in a hitless outing. Sophomore Jake LeFrancois (Worcester, Mass.) went 3.2 innings with two strikeouts, earning his third win of the season, while sophomore Nolan Geisler (Bayonne, N.J.) threw 3.0 innings with three strikeouts and allowed just two hits, securing his first save of the season in his outing.
The River Hawks started offensively with O'Leary and graduate student Nicholas Solorzano (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) working walks with two outs on the board, but the Great Danes slowly escaped the top of the first. On the bump, Foley started strong, striking out the side to end the first. Both sides stayed connected defensively in the second frame, as Foley picked up another strikeout before ending the inning on a putout at first. Although the River Hawks saw two on base in the third from a pair of singles from Masse and O'Leary, UAlbany prevented the River Hawks from advancing the runners any further, keeping it things scoreless through three. LeFrancois, who entered the game in the third, was dominant in the fourth as well, tossing a 1-2-3 inning, including his first punchout of the game.
After freshman Cal Chance (Wolcott, Conn.) and Masse singled to put two on in the top of the fifth, a wild pitch allowed them both to advance, putting runners on second and third. O'Leary, next to the plate, stepped up and battled to a full count before ripping a double down the right-field line, driving in two runs to give the River Hawks their first lead of the game, 2–0. With two outs in the inning, Martinez followed up with a double of his own, extending UMass Lowell's lead to 3-0. Meanwhile, LeFrancois continued his strong outing, retiring the side on just nine pitches in the sixth, including a strikeout, to preserve the lead. Looking to strike again in the seventh, UMass Lowell saw O'Leary reach on a hit-by-pitch, with Solorzano following with a single to get on base. Martinez, staying focused at the plate, cracked a single to right field, allowing O'Leary to hustle home and extend the River Hawks' lead to four. Looking to get on the board, the Great Danes loaded the bases in the seventh, but Geisler came in relief and got the batter to ground into a massive double play to escape the jam.
The eighth inning was quick for either side, as Geisler mounted another good defensive frame for UMass Lowell, ending on a swing and a miss. UAlbany got one last opportunity in the ninth, but Geisler struck out two of the first three batters and, despite the bases being loaded, recorded the final out at first to secure a 4–0 victory over the Great Danes in game one.
The River Hawks return tomorrow, April 3, for game two of the series against UAlbany in Lowell, Mass. The first pitch is set to begin at 5 p.m. at Edward A. LeLacheur Park.
