River Hawks Win Fifth Straight, Knock Off Siena 4-2

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LOWELL, Mass. –– In the final game at LeLacheur Park in 2019, the UMass Lowell baseball team picked up its fifth consecutive victory topping Siena, 4-2, in both teams’ non-conference finale on Wednesday afternoon.

The River Hawks (17-33) scored the contest’s first three runs, plating single runs in the first, third and fourth innings en route to a 3-0 lead for starter Sean O’Neill (Reading, Mass.) to navigate. Kyle Maurice (Exeter, Mass.) and Joey Castellanos (Nutley, N.J.) each picked up three hits with a run batted in, while Castellanos scored two runs as well.

“Anytime you put a streak together it’s special, and getting a win for the seniors in their last home game is good for them,” commented Head Coach Ken Harring, “Sean O’Neill was very good for us on his pitch count, Joey {Castellanos} and Kyle {Maurice} has some big hits for us and were swinging the bats well. It was a good win, and anytime you can beat a good team like Siena you’ll take it.”

UMass Lowell jumped on the board in the first inning off a Ciaran Devenney (Manalapan, N.J.) double to left field that scored Castellanos all the way from first, following his one-out walk. Maurice connected on his second double in as many at-bats, as he extended the gap to 2-0 in the third as Castellanos touched the plate for the second time on the day.

The sophomore recorded his RBI the following inning as his single to left plated Steven Passatempo (Medford, Mass.) and put the River Hawks on top, 3-0.

The Saints (17-31) clawed back with two runs in the top of the fifth to pull within a run, but a RBI grounder from Robert Gallagher (Mullica Hill, N.J.) gave UMass Lowell its multi-run lead back. The key defensive moment for the River Hawks came in the eighth as Siena put two runners on with no out and sent a grounder to short but Mark Tumosa (Willington, Conn.) dove to his right to snag the ball and start a double play to end the threat before any damage.

Blaise Sclafani (Souderton, Pa.) picked up his first career win, and Gerry Siracusa (Kinnelon, N.J.) earned the first save of his career with a scoreless ninth inning.

UMass Lowell heads to Long Island for its final regular-season series of the season at Stony Brook. The teams will a doubleheader on Friday afternoon and conclude the set on Saturday.