RIVER HAWKS ENTERTAIN FAIRFIELD FOR WEEKEND SERIES

Read Time:4 Minute, 33 Second

RIVER HAWKS ENTERTAIN FAIRFIELD FOR WEEKEND SERIES AT LELACHEUR

May 12 vs. Fairfield (6 p.m.)
Watch | Live Stats
RHP Andrew Ryan (4-3, 4.15 ERA) vs. TBA

May 13 (12 p.m.)
Watch | Live Stats
LHP Jack Riley (1-5, 5.65 ERA) vs. TBA
Game Two (3 p.m.)
RHP Nick Rand (1-3, 4.76 ERA) vs. TBA

LOWELL, Mass. — As the end of the regular season draws closer, the UMass Lowell baseball team finds itself with a conference bye weekend and welcomes Fairfield for a three-game set at LeLacheur Park this weekend.

The River Hawks have not seen any game action since taking two out of three from UAlbany in New York last weekend. The visitors took game one, 12-4, and the rubber match, 8-2, as UMass Lowell moved into second place in the America East standings.

Leading the Flock
Olive sits atop the lineup with his .374 average, 61 hits, 13 home runs, 12 doubles and is third with 34 RBI. Colby Maiola (North Reading, Mass.) is batting .313, with 12 stolen bases, seven dingers and is trailing Cam Climo (Billerica, Mass.) with 35 RBI, as Climo leads the team with 36. As a team, UMass Lowell has connected for 34 home runs and 366 hits. On the mound, Luke Tomczyk (Chili, N.Y.) is posting a 2.42 ERA, with Andrew Ryan (Rochester, Mass.) and Henry Funaro (Lowell, Mass.) pacing the staff with four wins each. The top three strikeout leaders are Andrew Ryan(64), Jack Riley (63) and Henry Funaro (44). Nick Rand (Hyde Park, N.Y.) has picked up four saves, while Tomczyk has three. The River Hawks are batting .254 as a team, with a 5.60 ERA.

Chelmsford Slugger
With his team-leading .712 slugging percentage, Olive sits ninth in the nation. He remains the highest ranked America East player and the leader among New England schools. The junior is third in America East in batting average and leads the conference in homers, as well.

Award SZN
Kyle Maurice named Rookie of the Week (3.8) … Ryan and Funaro picked up Pitcher and Co-Rookie of the Week (4.17) … Olive earned America East Player of the Week honors (3.13) … Funaro was named the AE Rookie of the Week (2.20).

Scouting Fairfield
The Stags (20-25) come into the weekend 3-2 in their last five, with a 7-1 win against Iona on May 5. Mitch Williams paces the offense with his .338 average, while Drew Acriuolo has 15 doubles. Blake Drew provides the pop with six home runs and 33 RBI. On the mound, Austin Pope is posting a 2.55 ERA, while John Signore has recorded five wins and 75 strikeouts. Fairfield is batting .266 with a 4.37 ERA.

The River Hawks took the only meeting between the teams, 4-2, in 2014.

Lucky Number Eleven
With the series finale win at UAlbany, the River Hawks passed their previous AE-wins total with their 11th victory this season

One-Two Punch
Entering the weekend, Andrew Ryan and Jack Riley are the top two strikeout producers in the America East. Ryan leads the conference with 64, with Riley right behind him with 63 strikeouts.

No More No-No Streak
The no-hitter against Maine was only the second time in program history that the offense could not deliver a base knock. The first came in the opening game of 1977, snapping a streak of 1,730 straight games with at least one hit.

Home Run Trot
With 34 home runs on the season, and eight games remaining, the River Hawks are on pace to pass their previous DI high of 37 long balls, set last season. Six players have homered so far this season.

Break Out the Brooms
The sweep of UMBC was only the third clean sheet in a series for the River Hawks since joining the America East, and first in the Mill City. The previous two came at UMBC (2014) and at Hartford (2015).

Colby Jack
UMass Lowell has connected on two grand slams over the last two seasons, both coming off the bat of Maiola.

Party of One
Following the River Hawks’ 9-0 win against Gardner-Webb on March 13, UMass Lowell played in 10 consecutive one-run games from March 16-31, the longest stretch in the nation this year. The River Hawks are 4-6 in that stretch, and 5-7 in one-run decisions in 2018.

Multitasking
The River Hawks have had 13 players record a total of 88 multi-hit games, as Olive leads the way with 21. The lineup has produced 44 multi-RBI games, with Climo pacing the team with 10.

Five Spot
Three River Hawks have recorded five RBI in a single game, Passatempo (5.5( and Maiola (4.10) are the most recent, while Climo was the first to do it this season in the team’s second game of the year.

Streaaaak
Current hitting streak – Kyle Maurice, 5 games
Current on base streak – Ben Prada, 5 games
Season high hitting streak – Colby Maiola, 8 games
Season high on base streak – Russ Olive, 33 games

Notables
Kyle Maurice (Exeter, N.H.) hit first home run against Dartmouth (4.10) … Tumosa hit his first career homer in the third inning of game two against Stony Brook (3.31) … Riley set the program’s single-game strikeout mark with 11 against UAlbany (3.23).