ORONO, Maine — The No. 4 seeded UMass Lowell softball team (26-25) delivered its biggest win of the season on Thursday morning, knocking off No. 1 seed Bryant (20-22), 9-2, in the winner's bracket of the America East Championship at the Labat Softball Complex.
Sophomore Thyanais Santiago (Methuen, Mass.) powered the River Hawks offensively with two home runs and four RBI, while junior Olivia DeCitise (Troy, N.Y.) dominated in relief, tossing 4.1 scoreless innings with five strikeouts to help seal the upset victory. Freshman Caroline Calkins (Orting, Wash.) added two doubles and two RBI, as Santiago's second home run of the afternoon moved her into the team lead in homers this season.
Lowell struck first in the second inning after sophomore Madi Wade (Hagerstown, Md.) worked a leadoff walk and freshman Julia Rowley (Beacon Falls, Conn.) ripped a double to center. Freshman Caroline Calkins (Orting, Wash.) followed with a deep fly ball to center, and Wade tagged from third, sliding in safely after Bryant mishandled the throw at the plate to give the River Hawks an early spark and a 1-0 lead.
Sophomore Thyanais Santiago (Methuen, Mass.) kept the momentum rolling an inning later, launching a solo shot to right center to double the advantage. Bryant answered with a two-run homer in the bottom half to even the score, but the River Hawks never let the game tilt out of reach.
With two runners on and two outs in the third, junior Olivia DeCitise (Troy, N.Y.) was called out of the bullpen. After a caught stealing ended the threat, the left-hander shut the door, retiring 11 of the final 12 batters she faced and holding the Bulldogs without a hit the rest of the way.
The breakthrough came in the fifth. Freshman Ella Van Alstyne (Beacon Falls, Conn.) battled for a walk before sophomore Avery Spinello-Branch (Lorton, Va.) dropped down a bunt single to put pressure on the Bryant defense. Santiago stepped up next and delivered the knockout punch, crushing a three-run homer to right center — her second blast of the day and new team-leading home run of the season — to put Lowell back in front, 5-2.
Lowell kept pouring it on from there. Rowley lined an RBI single through the middle before Calkins smoked a double off the left field wall, bringing Wade around to push the lead to five.
The River Hawks added the finishing touches in the seventh when sophomore Kate Hardy (Alexandria, Va.) came through with a pinch-hit, two-run single to extend the advantage to 9-2.
DeCitise took care of the rest from there, closing out the upset victory and sending the River Hawks deeper into the winner's bracket at the America East Championship.
Up next, the River Hawks will face No. 2 seed Binghamton on Friday at 12 p.m. in the winner's bracket semifinal.
