(Photo Courtesy of UMass Lowell Athletics) “River Hawk baseball players celebrate win against Bryant University.”
Sarah Mahannah
Connector Editor
The UMass Lowell River Hawks baseball team came back after having a rough start to their 2023 season with two straight series wins against Dartmouth College and Bryant University. This brought their season record to 3-6 in America East and 8-20 overall.
The first game of last week had the River Hawks play a mid-week game against Dartmouth College at Red Rolfe Field, which featured an amazing performance by the River Hawks overall.
Junior Fritz Genther gathered one RBI, three runs and a hit. Graduate student Gerry Siracusa had two hits. Graduate student Robert Gallagher had a hit and two RBIs.
Lowell had nine pitchers on the mound during the game, with a different one for each inning. Junior Brendan Williams, graduate student Shane Bogli and freshman Brian Foley all had one strikeout. Senior Miles Cota struck out the last batter, winning the game for the River Hawks, while junior Zach Fortuna had two strikeouts during his inning.
The River Hawks had an impressive series against the Bryant University Bulldogs. They swept the series with scores of 12-8, 14-5 and 16-3.
The second game of the series against Bryant was explosive. Graduate student Matt Draper had an amazing time at the mound, as he raked in nine strikeouts within six innings and only allowed three runs.
Sophomore Alex Luccini had one RBI, and Siracusa gathered two hits, two runs and three RBIs. Senior Matt Tobin and Genther tallied two hits each and had three RBIs combined. Gallagher had four runs, two walks, and an RBI.
The series finale against Bryant was spectacular for UMass Lowell. The River Hawks held off the Bulldogs fiercely to sweep the series.
Senior Ryan Proto had an impressive game with four hits, two runs and four RBIs. Siracusa, Genther and sophomore Jacob Humphrey tallied two hits each and had five RBIs combined. Tobin had two hits, one run and four RBIs.
The game was a fantastic one for the Lowell pitchers as they held off a strong fight from Bryant.
Freshman Nick DiRito threw for six innings, striking out three batters and allowing two runs. Graduate student Zach Rodgers and freshman Jacob Jette both struck out one batter in their innings. Freshman Michael Simes finished the game with one strikeout in the ninth inning, winning the series for the River Hawks.
The River Hawks traveled to Merrimack College on Tuesday, where they earned another win under their belt.
Cota struck out five batters in his 6.2 innings on the mound. Jette struck out two batters in his one inning on the mound and earned his first career save.
Gallagher had two walks, two hits and one run. Humphrey had three RBIs on two hits and three runs. Siracusa gathered two hits and three RBIs in his five times at the plate.
The River Hawks hope to continue their winning streak when they go to play a series against UAlbany. They still have over a month left in their season and seem to be continuing to excel.
