River Hawks Cruise to 16-3 Win Over Oral Roberts to Win Series

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TULSA, OK – An offense explosion led the UMass Lowell baseball team (5-10) to a 16-3 win over the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles (7-9) to win the weekend series on Sunday afternoon. This is the second series win of the season for the River Hawks.

Senior Roddy Hernandez (Jersey City, N.J.) went 3-3 on the day with three RBIs, two runs and one walk. Junior Conor Kelly (Hopkinton, Mass.) had two hits, including a grand slam, while freshman Sean O’Leary (Foxboro, Mass.) hit his second home run of the year. Senior Fritz Genther (Kingston, N.Y.) led the team with three runs scored and added one hit.

Sophomore Michael Simes (Rutland, Mass.) improved to 1-0 on the season after 5.0 innings with two strikeouts. Fellow sophomore Jacob Jette (Franklin, Mass.) sat two in 1.0 inning while graduate student Dylan Bedder (New Providence, N.J.) closed the game in the ninth.

The series finale began as a pitcher’s duel, with both teams tallying just one hit through three innings. Carlos Martinez drew two walks but was left on base both times. Michael Simes had a strong start with two strikeouts in three frames. Roddy Hernandez gave the River Hawks a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth with an RBI single that scored Genther.

Sean O’Leary turned two quick outs in the bottom of the ninth to negate a one-out double and keep UMass Lowell in front. River Hart entered the game for Trey Brown and hit a double to left in his first at bat. Alex Luccini was hit by a pitch to put two on with nobody out in the top of the fifth. Luccini would score on a wild pitch and Martinez scored on a sacrifice from Ryan Proto to push the lead to 3-0.

Oral Roberts tallied three runs on two hits in the bottom of the sixth to even the score at three heading into the last three frames of the game. Ryan Proto restored the lead with a two-out single that scored two. Sean O’Leary followed with a two-run home run to center that pushed the lead to 7-3 for the River Hawks.

Jake Fitzgibbons brought in the eighth run of the day with an RBI double to right center. The offense continued to roll with two outs as Roddy Hernandez tallied his third hit of the afternoon to bring in two. River Hart’s RBI single capped off an eight-run seventh inning for the River Hawks.

Brian Foley took over on the mound in the bottom of the seventh and made quick work of the Golden Eagles. The sophomore got some help from the defense who turned a 4-6-3 double play to bring the offense back to the plate.

UMass Lowell’s offense continued to roll in the eighth as Sean O’Leary brought in another run with an RBI single to right field. After Genther was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Conor Kelly drilled a shot to right field to clear the bases for his first career grand slam. The River Hawks scored five runs on three hits to take a commanding 16-3 lead into the bottom of the eighth.

Jacob Jette entered the game in the bottom of the eighth and struck out two in a scoreless inning. Dylan Bedder closed the game in the ninth and the River Hawks come home on a two-game win streak.

UMass Lowell opens the home slate on Wednesday, March 13 against Rhode Island. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m. at LeLacheur Park.