UMass Lowell Baseball Concludes Fall Ball

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The last time the UMass Lowell River Hawks were on the diamond was back on May 28. It was the championship round of the America East baseball tournament. They were facing the Binghamton Bearcats for the tournament title and a trip to the NCAA field of 64. Unfortunately for the River Hawks, things did not go as planned. They would lose that night and have to watch the Bearcats celebrate on the field. A cold and cruel way for the season to end.

Since that night, some things have happened to the program. First, the school now owns the ballpark they play in. With that will come improvements to the park as time moves along. There will be a new look to the River Hawks come spring as new uniforms will be unveiled. Three new sets of uniforms will be on display for next season. But what will not change is the feeling of unfinished business this team is carrying with them. To that point, one of the first things you will see as you enter the clubhouse of the River Hawks is four pictures on the wall. These pictures are all of the same thing, the celebration of the Binghamton Bearcats after winning last spring’s tournament.

Head coach Ken Harring admits “this team has come back to school with a chip on their shoulders” and who could blame them. Coming as close as they did to making history is not something you let go of that easily. Not to mention, the reminder they will see every time they walk into their clubhouse of a celebration that could very well have been theirs instead of Binghamton’s. What’s done is done and there is nothing they can do about the past, time to move on.

This may be the deepest team coach Harring has had since this program moved up to Division 1. The coach believes this team can win games in several different ways with pitching, speed, depth, and slugging. You could also add one more thing: experience. The starting lineup that took the field on May 28 is back. That includes pieces that were coming off the bench. The versatility this team now has should make this group one of if not the strongest teams in the league. A starting pitching staff led by sophomore left-handed LJ Keevan who looked good in fall ball, and graduate student right-handed Joshua Becker, gives this team a one-two punch few teams if any can match. Closer duties should once again belong to graduate student right-handed Matt Draper. This staff is the deepest it’s ever been.

On offense, graduate student OF Gerry Siracusa will anchor the middle of the lineup. He will have help at the top of the order with sophomore Jacob Humphrey and another graduate student Robert Gallagher doing what they did all of last spring, getting on base, stealing bases, and giving the heart of the Lowell lineup good pitches to hit. That heart includes the left side of the River Hawks infield with 3rd baseman, sophomore Brandon Fish, and SS junior Fritz Genther. Both of them can drive the baseball. The catching duties will be anchored by senior Ryan Proto. If there is a possible weakness of this team it could be the loss of Proto for a length of time. His backups are sophomore Jake Fitzgibbons and freshmen Robert Geisler, two guys that simply need more time at this level.

Opening day is set for February 17 in South Carolina to face the Gamecocks. As usual. the UMass Lowell River Hawks will spend most of the early part of the season on the road while New England tries to break away from the grasp of winter. When they return to begin conference play, the setup will be a little different thanks to only seven teams in the conference. The regular season will consist of a 24-game season and everyone will play everyone else at least once. Two teams will be home and home in UMass Lowell’s case. Maine and Binghamton will be the home and home the rest they will play once. America East will have a new format for the tournament that will take place in Binghamton next May. Six of the seven teams will make the field. The top two will get a bye, with the remaining four teams playing a win-or-go-home game on the first day. The four teams left will then play a four-team double-elimination event to determine the champion and who gets to move on to the NCAA tournament.

The calendar may say October, but before long the college baseball season will be back. It should be a good one for UMass Lowell.