UMass Lowell and UAlbany Split a Doubleheader Sunday

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A long Sunday afternoon was spent at the ballpark as the UMass Lowell River Hawks (17-26,16-18 in AE) and the UAlbany Great Danes (20-21, 18-16 in AE) split a doubleheader with the Great Danes winning game one in comeback style. They erased a 3-0 deficit to pull out a 4-3 victory. Game two saw the River Hawks jump out to a 6-0 lead, then held on for a 7-6 win. They split by Lowell sets up the final weekend of the season at home vs Hartford. They will still need some help, but they have life.

Game one was about two big innings, a three-run second by Lowell off of Albany starter Cregg Scherer. The inning was put together by two hits, three walks, and a key error by Great Danes second baseman Johnny Marti. Early on, UMass Lowell had a 3-0 advantage. Albany got those runs back in the fourth off of River Hawk starter Collin Duffley. The rally was started by a hit-by-pitch. A single by Brad Malm was followed one out later by an RBI hit from Jason Bottari. A sac fly by Josh Gurmack got them to within one at 3-2. Then the Great Danes executed a double steal with men on the corners to tie the game at 3-3. Albany took the lead for good in the very next inning. They would load the bases against Duffley and get their second sac fly of the game, this one by Malm, to take the lead at 4-3 after five frames.

At this point, the game was turned over to the bullpens. Duffley went 4.2 IP, 4H, 4ER, 2BB, 6SO. Scherer went the first five innings, giving up five hits, three runs, two earned, six walks, and three strikeouts. None of the walks would come back to hurt Scherer and that would be a problem for UMass Lowell. Afterward, Coach Harring said “we left too many runners on in game one.” In fact, the River Hawks left runners on base in every inning but the first and third. The Albany bullpen kept the River Hawks off the board for the rest of the game. Steven Turk and Anthony Fusco did the job with Fusco picking up his second save of the year. Scherer goes to 4-3, Duffley takes the loss and falls to 2-7.

In game two the River Hawks jumped out to a 6-0 lead on Albany starter Connor Eisenmann. Four of those runs came in the third inning. The first five hitters reached base on a walk and a throwing error by Eisenmann on a bunt. Then there were three straight hits from Robert Gallagher, Keegan Calero, Vinnie Martin to score three of the runs. Cam Climo’s sac fly brought home the fourth run of the inning. They would add two more in the fifth to make it a 6-0 game. While the River Hawks were scoring runs, their starter Joshua Becker was dealing. He threw five innings of two-hit shutout baseball, his coach said “it was the best he had thrown all season.” But a lighting delay in the bottom of the fifth took Becker out of the game. The delay lasted over 30 minutes. It would force the River Hawks to go to their bullpen. Ryan Towle was first up in the sixth and it did not go well at all. He would allow three hits, five earned runs, walked two, and hit two other Great Danes hitters. Sal Fusco was brought on to stop the bleeding, which he did but the game was now a one-run ballgame at 6-5.

UMass Lowell got one of those runs back in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single by Martin that scored Calero who began the inning with a walk then stole second base. That run was allowed by Marshall Winn. It was 7-5 River Hawks after six. Henry Funaro was brought on in the seventh to replace Fusco. The first man he faced, Johnny Marti, took him deep over the wall in right field for his fourth home run of the year. It was now a one-run game again at 7-6. Funaro would give up hits to the next two men he faced. With runners on the corners, Funaro uncorked a wild pitch. River Hawk catcher Ryan Proto raced back to get the baseball and fired a strike to Funaro to nail Jason Bottari at the plate to keep the lead. From there, Funaro pitched with an edge striking out the next four hitters he faced. He would earn his third save of the season by going three innings, giving up four hits, one run, and four punchouts. UMass Lowell takes game two 7-6 and splits the weekend with Albany. Becker evens his record at 4-4, Eisenmann drops to 2-4.

The River Hawks may have received some bad news as Robert Gallagher left the game in the sixth with an injury. It is not sure if he can play next weekend vs Hartford. The final weekend gets started on Friday with a DH. Then concludes on Saturday with another twin-bill.