River Hawks Honor Seniors with 9-2 Win against UMBC

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River Hawks complete sweep of UMBC

LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell River Hawks baseball team celebrated Senior Day with a 9-2 victory to complete the three-game sweep of UMBC on Sunday afternoon.

Oscar Marchena (Miami, Fla.) paced the lineup with three hits and a pair of RBI, as the River Hawks (15-33, 10-11) took control early and never looked back. The Retrievers (21-29, 6-17) tried to mount a comeback but could not muster any offense following the second inning.

“It was a good performance, anytime that you can pick up a sweep in conference play is big, as it doesn’t happen often,” commented Head Coach Ken Harring. “We took care of business today and I was happy with the way we swung the bats and how we came out and put up the big number early. Our seniors coming out of the bullpen did what they needed to do in order to button up the win.”

Behind a Mark Tumosa (Willington, Conn.) leadoff triple, the hosts jumped out to a 4-0 lead after one inning as they belted four extra-base hits in the frame.

Joey Castellanos (Nutley, N.J.) singled home the redshirt junior and Marchena doubled home the sophomore to double the advantage. With two outs, Michael Young (Chester, N.J.) tripled off the wall in right, followed by a Steven Passatempo(Medford, Mass.) double to dead center field, which opened the gap to 4-0.

UMBC plated two in the second to get the visitors within 4-2, but UMass Lowell added its fifth run of the contest in the bottom of the frame. Robert Gallagher (Mullica Hill, N.J.) walked and picked up two stolen bases before Marchena reached on an error allowing the freshman to cross the plate.

A RBI grounder by Trip McCaffrey (Mullica Hill, N.J.) and a safety squeeze by Gallagher that turned into a run-scoring single extended the lead to 7-2 for the hosts in the third. After being held scoreless in the fourth, Vinnie Martin (Lodi, N.J.) delivered a pinch-hit single to score Ciaran Devenney (Manalapan, N.J.). Marchena picked up his three-hit and second RBI of the day with his single in the sixth to pad the lead to 9-2 in favor of UMass Lowell.

Henry Funaro (Lowell, Mass.) struck out four in 4.2 innings, and the bullpen performance by a group of seniors shut the door on the Retrievers, with Kendall Pomeroy (Shrewsbury, Mass.) picking up the win.

The River Hawks return to action on Tuesday against Bryant at 2 p.m. at LeLacheur Park.