River Hawks Open Tournament Play On Thursday

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RIVER HAWKS OPEN TOURNAMENT PLAY ON THURSDAY

LOWELL, Mass. — The UMass Lowell baseball team will finally take the field at its first America East Championship on Thursday afternoon. First pitch is set for 2:30 p.m., with the winner of the UMBC/UAlbany game taking on the River Hawks.

UMass Lowell earned the two seed and the first-round bye with a series victory in the regular-season finale last weekend.

Leading the Flock
Russ Olive (Chelmsford, Mass.) sits atop the lineup with his .368 average, 68 hits, 13 home runs, 12 doubles and is third with 36 RBI. Colby Maiola (North Reading, Mass.) has stolen 19 bases and has connected on seven dingers and is second with 37 runs driven in, as Cam Climo (Billerica, Mass.) leads the team with 40 RBI. As a team, UMass Lowell has connected for 35 home runs and 415 hits. On the mound, Andrew Ryan (Rochester, Mass.) is posting a 3.53 ERA and Henry Funaro (Lowell, Mass.) paces the staff with five wins. The top three strikeout leaders are Andrew Ryan (76), Jack Riley (67) and Henry Funaro (48). Luke Tomczyk (Chili, N.Y.) has taken over the team lead with five saves. The River Hawks are batting .253 as a team, with a 5.22 ERA.

Award SZN
On Tuesday night, six River Hawks were named to All-Conference teams. Andrew Ryan and Olive picked up First Team honors, while Steve Passatempo (Medford, Mass.), Climo and Maiola all earned spots on the Second Team. Fresh off his third Rookie of the Week title, Henry Funaro (Lowell, Mass.) earned All-Rookie Team accolades.
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).

In the Doghouse
UMass Lowell posted a combined record of 7-2 against the Retrievers and Great Danes, including a three-game sweep of UMBC in April. The River Hawks outscored their two potential opponents, 45-19, in 2018.

We Talkin’ Playoffs
In their first year of eligibility, the River Hawks make their Division I postseason debut. This is the first appearance for UMass Lowell in a conference tournament since 2012.

Chelmsford Slugger
Russ Olive’s 13 home runs are a new single-season high for the River Hawks in the Division I level. He is only the second player to reach double-figures since the move to DI.

Baker’s Dozen
UMass Lowell’s 13 conference wins are the most for the program since joining the conference in 2014.

One-Two Punch
Entering the tournament Andrew Ryan and Jack Riley are two of the top three strikeout producers in the America East. Ryan ranks second with 76, with Riley right behind him with 67 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
The 35 home runs in the regular-season, is the second most homers for the program in Division I. The high is 37 set last 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 101 multi-hit games, as Olive leads the way with 23. The lineup has produced 49 multi-RBI games, with Climo pacing the team with 12.

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 – Steve Passatempo, 8 games
Current on-base streak – Russ Olive, 11 games
Season-high hitting streak – C. Maiola, S. Passatempo, 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).