River Hawks Drop Conference Opener, 5-4, in Extra Innings

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VESTAL, N.Y. – The rematch of last year’s championship game ended in walk-off fashion as the UMass Lowell River Hawks baseball team (3-15, 0-1 AE) fell to the Binghamton Bearcats (9-8, 1-0 AE) in extra innings on Friday afternoon.

Sophomore Alex Luccini (Hopedale, Mass.) had a great day at the plate, tallying four hits to lead the team. Fellow sophomore Jacob Humphrey (Standish, Maine) had three hits, including two solo home runs, to extend his hit streak to 10 games. Senior Gerry Siracusa (Kinnelon, N.J.) had two hits and one stolen base.

Graduate student Matt Draper (Lowell, Mass.) got the start and went 5.0 innings and struck out five with two earned runs. Freshman Michael Simes (Rutland, Mass.) went 2.1 innings with one strikeout and two earned runs. Graduate student Joshua Becker (Burlington, Mass.) struck out two with one earned run in 3.1 innings.

“It was a really good baseball game,” said head coach Ken Harring. “They capitalized on our walk, where four of their runs came from. We competed and battled today. We just have to keep moving forward.”

Jacob Humphrey opened to game with a leadoff solo home run to put the River Hawks ahead 1-0 early. Matt Draper struggled in the first inning, walking two and allowing one hit to load the bases with nobody out. The veteran settled down and struck out two to end the frame, but the Bearcats got one back to tie the game.

Draper and Babalis pitched well through the fourth inning, each throwing three straight scoreless frames. In the third inning, Draper showed off his defensive work and made a great diving catch for the second out before retiring the side as the game moved to the fifth tied.

Humphrey stayed hot with another hit in the top of the fifth before moving to third on Gerry Siracusa’s double to right center field. Junior Fritz Genther’s (Kingston, Mass.) RBI gave the River Hawks a 2-1 edge heading into the bottom half of the inning. A two-out double for the Bearcats tied the game before Draper struck out Gsell swinging to end the inning.

Michael Simes took over on the mound for the sixth, which was quick for both sides with the River Hawks sending the game to the seventh with a great play by Alex Luccini. The sophomore made a catch deep in the outfield and throws the runner out at first with a one-hop cannon to complete the double play and end the frame.

Jacob Humphrey hit his second solo homer of the day in the top of the seventh to put UMass Lowell back in front. Gerry Siracusa’s one-out single put a runner on for Ryan Proto. The senior drilled a two-out double to right field to score Siracusa and give the River Hawks a two-run lead. Simes retired the side in order with one strikeout in a scoreless seventh.

With two on and one out in the bottom of the eighth, Joshua Becker took over on the mound. Binghamton put runners on second and third before a two-out triple tied the game. A groundout ended the frame, sending the game into the ninth even at four. UMass Lowell went down in order in the ninth and Becker answered with one strikeout in a 1-2-3 inning to send the game to extra innings.

Neither side could find the winner in the tenth, so the game moved to the eleventh still tied at 4-4. Alex Luccini hit a one-out single to put a runner on first for the River Hawks. Luccini advanced to second on a wild pitch, putting the go-ahead run in scoring position. Jacob Humphrey was intentionally walked with two outs, but both were left stranded. A two-out double won it for the Bearcats in the bottom of the eleventh.

Game two of the weekend series is set for 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 25 at the Bearcats Sports Complex.