UMass Lowell and UAlbany Open LeLacheur for '24 With DH Spilt

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While it did not look or feel like spring, the UMass Lowell River Hawks (7-13, 1-1) opened up another baseball season at LeLacheur Park on Friday afternoon. It was also the America East Conference opener for them, a doubleheader with UAlbany (1-15, 1-1). The reason for the twin-bill is the expected rain in the northeast over the weekend. The day got off to a good start for the River Hawks as they took game one by a 10-2 score. However, game two was a different story, as the Great Danes picked up an 11-1 win.

A cold but bright sunny day awaited the teams as the River Hawks took the field for game one. Senior right-hander Brendan Williams took the mound for UMass Lowell. After the DH was over, his coach Nick Barese said Williams “has been good all season for us.” He continued that string of good pitching in game one despite allowing two first-innings runs on a sac-fly by DH Jared Toby, then CF Luke Filippi reached on a fielding error by River Hawks SS Fritz Genther. Williams was good and his line of six innings, three hits, two earned runs, two walks, and three strikeouts is exactly what you wanted out of your starting pitcher.

The offense got off to a slow start, hitless through the first four innings against the pitching of UAlbany RHP Owen Brinkman. It would be the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings where the game was lost by the Great Danes and won by the River Hawks. The fourth was the strangest of the three innings. That’s because UMass Lowell scored four times without the benefit of a base hit. Brinkman would load the bases on two walks and a hit-by-pitch. A Sac-fly by 1st baseman Connor Kelly brought home the first run for UMass Lowell. It would end Brinkman’s day (3.2 IP, zero hits, three earned runs, two walks, three strikeouts). Connor Eisemann was first out of the Great Danes pen. He would allow the final three runs (one inherited) of the inning on a bases-loaded walk to Genther, then a fielder choice up the middle that UAlbany second baseman Luke Myers knocked down but could not make a play on, scoring the other two. The River Hawks now had a 4-2 lead. In the fifth, they pushed five more across the plate. They would bat around with key hits coming from CF Alex Luccini, a two-run double to center field, a sac-fly from RF Carlos Martinez, and a two-run single by Fish. The runs came off Eisenmann and the third pitcher of the game Michael DiMartino. 9-2 River Hawks. UMass Lowell tacked on another run in the sixth on a HR to right by Luccini, his fifth of the year off DiMartino. Williams gets the win and is now 1-3, Brinkman takes the loss and he is 3-5.

The second game mirrored the problems the River Hawks have had in the first 20 games played. Starting pitching that puts the team in catch-up mode. Michael Simes got the game two start and did not get out of the first inning. He faced eight batters, seven of them reached base with five of them scoring. There were three hit-by-pitches in the inning as well. An ugly third of an inning for Simes (2 hits, 5 ER, 1 BB, SO).

As coach Barese said after game two, “Our starting pitching has not been good enough.” Stacked with a 5-0 lead, UAlbany sent to the mound probably their best pitcher on the roster in RHP Matt Marrano. He did what a good pitcher is supposed to do when given five runs before you throw your first pitch. Throw strikes and get outs and for seven innings, that is just what he did. The result was a seven-inning, five-hit, one-earned run performance. He improved his record to 3-2.

UAlbany added runs in the third, fifth, sixth, and ninth. They banged out 10 hits to support the 11 runs they scored in an 11-1 game two win. The only River Hawks run was also the only mistake Mariano made. A fastball that Genther got a hold of hit it over the wall in left field for his 3rd of the year. At the time it made the score 5-1 Great Danes.

The bad part of the River Hawks bullpen was on display in game two. LJ Keevan, who has struggled as a starter, came out of the pen to try and right his ship. Instead, he lasted only an inning, giving up 4 ER on only one hit. He hit two batters and threw a wild pitch. Brian Foley, a RHP, walked the only three guys he faced. However, he did get away with it, as Cam Sime came in to save him. Sime was the lone bright spot of game two for UMass Lowell going three innings, giving up just one hit, one BB, and three SO. Eight of the nine hitters in the Great Danes lineup had a hit. 2nd baseman Luke Myers had a 3-for-5 game two with an RBI and RS. Brendon Fish had a two-hit game two. Alex Luccini did the same in game one with three RBI for the River Hawks.

The two teams, weather permitting, will play on Sunday afternoon at LeLacheur Park in the rubber game of the series. Freshman RHP Alfred Mucciarone will get the start for UMass Lowell.