River Hawks Take Weekend Series with 12-5 Win Over JMU

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HARRISONBURG, Va. – The UMass Lowell River Hawks baseball team (2-7, 0-0 AE) won the weekend series against James Madison (6-5, 0-0 SBC) with a 12-5 victory in game three on Sunday afternoon. Freshman Nick DiRito (Plymouth, Mass.) earned his first collegiate win after throwing 5.0 innings with four strikeouts.

“Great game today. [Nick] DiRito set the tone and the bullpen did a great job again,” said head coach Ken Harring. “Three freshmen growing up right in front of us. The veterans in the lineup set the tone offensively. Genther, Proto, Siracusa, Wayman and Humphrey had huge days.”

The River Hawks’ offense came alive on Sunday with 12 runs on 15 hits. Graduate student Gerry Siracusa (Kinnelon, N.J.) and junior Fritz Genther (Kingston, N.Y.) each had five RBIs and combined for six hits on the afternoon while senior Frank Wayman (Horseheads, N.Y.) added a two-run homerun.

Sophomore Jacob Humphrey (Standish, ME.) and seniors Ryan Proto (Centerville, Mass.) and Matt Tobin (Poland, N.Y.) added two runs each and combined for six hits.

DiRito picked up the win in his first start and fellow freshmen Michael Simes (Rutland, Mass.) and Jacob Jette (Franklin, Mass.) had great outings on the mound as well. Simes went 2.0 innings with one earned run and one punchout while Jette threw a scoreless eighth with two strikeouts.

Nick DiRito made his first collegiate start for the River Hawks and was tested early. The rookie escaped a second inning jam with runners on the corners to keep the hosts off the board. After two scoreless innings, the UMass Lowell offense found life in the third. Three straight singles saw Humphrey score the opening run of the game. Another base hit loaded the bases for Fritz Genther who hit a grand slam to push the lead to 5-0.

Nick DiRito ended the bottom half of the frame with a strikeout in another efficient inning for the freshman.

The River Hawks added three runs in the fourth behind four hits, including three doubles. Gerry Siracusa’s double scored Matt Tobin and Ryan Proto before Genther brought in Siracusa to give UMass Lowell an 8-0 lead. James Madison got back in the game with two-run homeruns from Coleman Calabrese and Jacob Steinberg in the fourth and fifth inning.

Michael Simes entered the game for DiRito in the sixth and threw a scoreless frame. Frank Wayman’s two-run bomb and two RBIs from Siracusa pushed the lead the 12-4 in the seventh. The hosts got one back in the bottom half of the inning thanks to a solo homerun. Jacob Jette entered the game in the eighth inning and struck out two to send the game to the final frame.

Graduate student Josh Becker (Burlington, Mass.) made his season debut in the ninth inning. The veteran made quick work, retiring the side in order to secure the series win for the River Hawks.

Next up, UMass Lowell will visit Virginia Tech for a pair of midweek games before heading to Pennsylvania to take on Saint Joseph’s for a weekend series.