LOWELL, Mass. – Senior Carlos Martinez hit well at the plate, knocking a double and a home run, while also recording two RBI and two runs scored, as the UMass Lowell baseball team (16–20, 6–9 AE) put up five runs in the second inning, paving the way for a 10–8 victory over Merrimack (15–22) at Edward A. LeLacheur Park on Wednesday.
"I thought overall it was a really good game," said Head Coach Nick Barese. "Cornelius has been pretty consistent for us, good weeks, plus he gives us multiple innings. We don't ever expect him to go out there and give us six, seven, eight innings, or anything like that, but he's just a really competitive kid. He always gives us an opportunity, and did the same thing again today. Dunlea at the end of the game was great. I think that was a little bit of a story from our bullpen today, that some guys that hadn't gotten a ton of opportunity in the last few weeks got some today. Tyler did a really good job with it, and I thought even Zawatsky, who hasn't pitched in a while, got himself into a little bit of trouble. Then he got himself out of it and did a pretty good job minimizing that inning, and same thing with Ducie. Overall, it was a gritty, tough win against a team where it's non-conference, but they're right in our backyard. A lot of times we talk about this with the guys, you're recruiting a lot of the same players and you're in the same region. It's important that you win games against cross town rivals."
Senior Joseph DeLanzo (Nutley, N.J.) went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double, two RBI and a run, while junior Ryan Strand (Goffstown, N.H.) hit 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI. Junior Rowan Masse (Manchester, Conn.) also tallied a multi-hit game with two hits and a run in the contest. Starting on the hill, junior Evan Cornelius (Milford, Mass.) made his third start of the season, pitching 4.0 innings with just one earned run in his outing. Freshman Colin Ducie (Plymouth, Mass.) worked 2.0 innings with a strikeout to pick up the first win of his collegiate career, while freshman Tyler Dunlea (Attleboro, Mass.) threw 1.2 scoreless innings with a strikeout to record the first save of his collegiate career.
The first inning went scoreless for both sides, as the River Hawks defense ended the top half with a ground out double play. With the bases loaded in the second, Merrimack was threatening to take an early lead, but the River Hawks clutched up by closing the visitors half on another double play. Martinez kicked off the bottom of the second with a solo shot to right field for an early 1–0 advantage, before graduate student Nicholas Solorzano (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) and DeLanzo knocked a pair of singles with two outs on the board. Up next, Strand ripped a RBI double to left field before redshirt-sophomore Sean O'Leary (Foxboro, Mass.) highlighted the inning with a three-run blast to center field, extending the River Hawks lead to 5–0. Cornelius' strong outing continued in the third, leaving the opposition scoreless before the home side extended the lead in the home half when Martinez ledoff with a double followed moments later by a sacrifice fly by Solorzano.
The River Hawks remained on top of it defensively in the fourth, bringing UMass Lowell back to the plate. With one out, O'Leary reached after being hit by a pitch and Masse singled, with both runners stealing a base to advance to scoring position. After a wild pitch during the next at-bat, O'Leary saw his chance to dash home, extending the difference to 7–0. Next to the plate, freshman Cal Chance (Wolcott, Conn.) drew a walk, followed by a sacrifice fly by Martinez to make it an eight-run ballgame. Merrimack, setting up a late rally effort, plated two runs on a fielder's choice in the fifth before adding two more runs in the sixth, cutting the lead to 8-4 with three innings to play.
In the top of the seventh, the Warriors continued their strong offensive stretch, plating two more runs to make it 8-6. The River Hawks, however, ultimately worked out of the inning with a strikeout by Ducie, who entered the game in relief. In the home half of the inning, Merrimack managed to get one out before graduate student Jorge Burgos (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) and junior Scott Donahue (Medfield, Mass.) worked walks. With two down, DeLanzo stayed composed and stroked a two-run double to right, extending the lead back to four. The home side aimed to close things out quickly, but Merrimack answered once again with two runs to reduce the margin to 10–8 in the top of the eighth. Taking over on the mound, Dunlea was quick to force the Warriors into a clutch double play, setting up the final inning of the ball game, where he continued to dominate, tossing a clean inning and punching out the final batter to secure a 10–8 win over Merrimack on Wednesday.
The River Hawks are back on Friday, April 24, when they compete against Bryant in a home conference series at Edward A. LeLacheur Park. The first pitch is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. in Lowell, Mass.
