On a cold, raw Friday afternoon where base hits were at a premium, the UMass Lowell baseball team managed to capitalize on a Cincinnati Bearcat mistake to walk away with a 1-0 victory.

“We played error free baseball and they had one mistake and we capitalized on it,” head coach Ken Harring said to goriverhawks.com. “The win just proves that we can compete with anyone.”
The River Hawks were the first team to encounter trouble when, in the top of the fourth inning, starting pitcher Mike Calzetta faced the middle of the Bearcats lineup with runners on second and third with zero outs.

Calzetta rallied in a big way to work out of the jam, striking out the side and preserving the 0-0 tie. The teams combined for just seven total hits, but junior Matt Sanchez was able to provide all the offense UMass Lowell needed.

Sanchez went 2-2 on the day, and his sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the seventh inning moved teammate Jimmy Ricoy to second base after a hit-by-pitch earned him first base.
Ricoy would then score the game’s only run on a throwing error by Cincinnati’s shortstop.

Sophomore reliever Thulani Denaro picked up the win for the River Hawks, throwing one and two thirds innings of hitless ball to go along with two strikeouts. Geoff Degroot earned the save, the first of his career.