UAlbany Takes the Final Game of the Weekend 11-4 over UMass Lowell

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Sweeping a team even at home is a difficult thing to do. The UMass Lowell River Hawks (19-24, 9-12 in AE) had that opportunity on Sunday at Lelacheur Park. They had reason to feel good about their chances since Joshua Becker was taking the ball for them. UAlbany (19-19, 9-13 in AE) had other ideas with a combination of good starting pitching from Connor Eisermann (8 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO), and an offensive attack that pounded out 15 hits. Every member of the lineup had at least one hit. It allowed the Great Danes to salvage the final game of the series with Lowell 11-4.

Becker (3-4) did not have it on Sunday, whether it was the Great Danes hitters hunting fastball earlier and often or as coach Harring said afterward “location of the fastball.'” Every time Joshua threw one Albany hitters did not miss it. His line of 3.2 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, and 2SO would bear that out. They jumped on him in the very first inning, After retiring the leadoff hitter Will Binder on a flyout, the next three hitters would produce the game’s first run. SS Brad Malm singled to left then John Daly (3-4, 2 RBI, 1 RS) followed with a hit to left moving Malm to third. CF Johnny Marti (1-3, 3 RBI) drove him in with a sac fly to center field and the Great Danes had a 1-0 lead. Lowell would take their only lead of the game in the second vs Eisenmann. Robert Gallagher started it with a walk and two batters later he scored on an opposite-field triple to left by number nine hitter Alex Luccini (3-4, 2 RS, 2 RBI). Luccini was a HR short of the cycle. Alex scored on an infield base hit to the 5-6 hole by leadoff man Jacob Humphrey and Lowell had a 2-1 lead.

Things unraveled for the River Hawks over the next two innings. In both the fourth and fifth innings, the Great Danes would score five runs on eleven hits. They would hit two home runs during that period. They knocked Becker out of the game with two outs in the fourth and did some damage to his replacements Brendan Holland (1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 HR) and Brian Gaughan who only lasted a third of an inning. He gave up three hits and three earned runs. The home runs were hit in the fifth by Will Feil on the first pitch he saw in the fifth. A no-doubter over the right-field wall to lead off the frame. Two batters later, RF Josh Loeffler hit one off the left-field scoreboard. Both bombs came off Holland. By the time Lowell’s bullpen was able to calm things down, Albany had an 11-3 lead.

Eisenmann (5-2) did his job from there. He threw strikes and got outs. Coach Harring said, “We just did not hit today.” However, the way this game went, the River Hawks would have had to outslug the Great Danes to win this one. Lowell tacked on one run in the seventh on a Ryan Proto RBI hit scoring Luccini who had doubled to right. This made the final score 11-4 Albany. On the bright side of things, the River Hawks did get three shutout innings from reliever Sal Fusco who the coach said: “had good command of his slider.”

This is an interesting week for UMass Lowell. Finals begin on Monday, which means practice time will be of the scramble variety. The coach does believe that the team will be ready for the Maine Black Bears on Friday night. It will be the last conference home series of the spring.