2026 Baseball Season in Review: River Hawks Head Back to America East Postseason
6/19/2026 1:37:00 PM | Baseball
LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell baseball team headed into the 2026 season facing a competitive, 52-game schedule.
The River Hawks earned their way into the America East postseason, finishing with a 21-31 overall record and a 10-14 mark in America East action.
UMass Lowell opened its season with a 7–4 victory over Morehead State on Feb. 13 in Winchester, Ky.
The spring break trip to California helped ignite the team, as UMass Lowell went 6-3 during the trip, carrying confidence and momentum into conference play. Over the week, the team split a series against San Francisco, 2–2, took a midweek contest at Sacramento State, and captured its first series victory of the season, 3–1, at Pepperdine.
Some games throughout the week included a 21-hit, 18–7 decision over the Dons, a 7–2 win against the Hornets, and three straight victories against the Waves on their home field, headlined by a 7–4, extra-inning triumph. Along with a great week overall for the team, Head Coach Nick Barese earned his 200th career win as a collegiate head coach in the series opener against Pepperdine, 7–6.
The River Hawks were awarded two America East Weekly Awards following the trip. Freshman Cal Chance (Wolcott, Conn.) was named the America East Rookie of the Week and sophomore Nolan Geisler (Bayonne, N.J.) earned America East Pitcher of the Week honors.
The River Hawks opened America East play against Binghamton, fighting to a 7–5, 10th-inning victory in the series opener. After hitting the road for the first 20 games of the season, the River Hawks welcomed Northeastern to LeLacheur Park on March 25 for their home opener. In the contest against the Huskies, senior Carlos Martinez (Coamo, Puerto Rico) hit a double to right field, becoming the all-time career leader in UMass Lowell’s Division I history. Martinez finished his River Hawk career with 54 doubles.
A strong March came to a close for junior Alfred Mucciarone (Franklin, Mass.), who turned in a complete-game performance against Maine in a 10–1 victory, a showing that earned the right-hander his first America East Pitcher of the Week recognition of the 2026 season.
In April, UMass Lowell was challenged by NJIT at home, but the River Hawks grinded out a well-earned series victory. The matchup featured a clutch, walk-off hit from junior Rowan Masse (Manchester, Conn.) in the 10th inning of a 4–3 win. The following week, the River Hawks soared in a midweek clash against Stonehill, totaling 20 hits, as the team exploded for a 20–10 victory in eight innings.
Building on an already strong start to his collegiate career, Chance secured his second America East Rookie of the Week honor of the season. The freshman was dominant at the plate, batting .611 (11-for-18) while scoring five runs and driving in seven. The Connecticut native also posted a .722 slugging percentage and a .650 on-base percentage, highlighted by a five-hit performance against Stonehill.
UMass Lowell continued to battle, traveling to Maine for a pivotal three-game series. The River Hawks rose to the occasion, sweeping the Black Bears with three straight victories in Orono, Maine. Mucciarone opened the series with a complete-game shutout, leading the River Hawks to a 2–0 victory. UMass Lowell followed with a 7–6 win in game two, fueled by a six-run fourth inning. The River Hawks completed the series sweep behind a standout performance from graduate student Nicholas Solorzano (El Dorado Hills, Calif.), who went 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double, five RBI, and two runs scored in a 5–4 victory.
Following a strong series against Maine that helped clinch an America East playoff berth for UMass Lowell, Mucciarone earned his second America East Pitcher of the Week honors of the season, while Solorzano was named America East Player of the Week.
After wrapping up the 2026 regular season, UMass Lowell was represented in the America East All-Conference Awards. Mucciarone was honored with spots on both the America East All-Conference Second Team and the All-Academic Team for his efforts on the field and in the classroom, while Chance secured All-Rookie Team honors and graduate student Frankie DeMaro (Newburgh, N.Y.) was named to the All-Academic Team.
No. 5 UMass Lowell opened the 2026 America East Baseball Championship taking on No. 4 Bryant and coming out on top, 7–5, in the eleventh inning. Solorzano was an offensive threat against the Bulldogs, going 4-for-6 at the plate with two doubles, a homer and three RBI, while Mucciarone started on the mound, pitching 7.0 innings with four strikeouts. Geisler threw 2.0 innings with three strikeouts to pick up his fourth win of the season, as sophomore Jake LeFrancois (Worcester, Mass.) closed the game for UMass Lowell and earned his third save of the season.
When the double-elimination tournament ended, Mucciarone and Solorzano’s impact in the postseason was recognized with America East All-Championship Team honors.
Adding to a season full of accolades, UMass Lowell placed three River Hawks on the 2026 CSC Academic All-District Teams, which honor the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined academic and athletic success. Senior Joseph DeLanzo (Nutley, N.J.), DeMaro, and Mucciarone represented the River Hawks on this year’s list.
In his first collegiate season, Chance made an immediate impact, batting .294 over 45 starts with 30 RBI, 10 doubles, and a triple. He also recorded a .358 on-base percentage and tied for the team lead with 12 stolen bases. Chance also tied the UMass Lowell Division I single-game hits record twice during the season, recording five-hit outings against Pepperdine (March 12) and Stonehill (April 14).
Redshirt-sophomore Sean O’Leary (Foxboro, Mass.) led the team in batting average (.308), OPS (.901), slugging percentage (.493), runs scored (55), hits (62), walks (29), and home runs (9). The infielder appeared in 50 games this season, also tallying eight doubles and a triple at the plate. O’Leary finished the 2026 season ranked second in the America East for runs scored with 55.
Mucciarone logged a team-best 76.2 innings and posted a 4.46 earned run average in 14 starts on the mound. The junior recorded three wins, two complete games, including a shutout, and 47 strikeouts. He finished the season tied for 15th in Division I baseball for complete games, as well as ranking sixth for earned run average (4.46) and fourth for innings pitched (76.2) on the America East leaderboard. Among his accomplishments this season, Mucciarone also notched the 100th strikeout of his collegiate career.
