Grand Slam Leads Dartmouth College Past UMass Lowell 7-2

Read Time:4 Minute, 15 Second

Situational hitting is a part of the game of baseball that can decide games. Tuesday afternoon was a classic example. On the one hand, the UMass Lowell River Hawks (9-16) had a really hard time with the theory. On the other hand, Dartmouth College (7-12) did not. As River Hawks head coach Nick Barese said after the game when asked about his team hitting in the clutch, he called it “very bad.” UMass Lowell had 12 hits for the game. They also left 15 runners on base. Why? Because they struck out 14 times. With runners in scoring position, UMass Lowell was 1-for-7.

The game came down to a couple of innings and the River Hawks had the bases loaded on two different occasions. In the fourth and sixth innings, they had a chance to bust open a closed game. In both innings, the River Hawks did not. Dartmouth College had one bases-loaded chance in the sixth and they came through in a big way. LF Jackson Hower took River Hawks reliever Owen Hoyt over the wall in left field for a grand slam HR, his first home run of the year to help the Big Green to a 7-2 win over the River Hawks.

UMass Lowell got a good starting pitching from Brendan Holland (three IP, four hits, zero runs, two K’s). They got a three-hit game from SS Fritz Genther, a two-hit game from 1st baseman Connor Kelly, and another two-hit game from RF Carlos Martinez. But it did not produce enough. CF Alex Luccini had what his coach called “A tough day” striking out five times in five at-bats. He leads the team in strikeouts with 37 in 106 at-bats.

The River Hawks had a lead of 2-0 in the third as they scored both of their runs in that inning off of Big Green starter Clark Gilmore (three IP, four hits, two runs, none earned) who came into this start with an ERA of 17.10. That inning started with Roddy Herandez reaching base on a fielding error by Dartmouth College 3rd baseman A.J. DeMastrie. He reached second base on an infield hit by Genther, then scored the game’s first run on a single to left by Kelly. The River Hawks made it 2-0 on an RBI single to right by Martinez that scored Genther.

Dartmouth scored those runs back in the top of the fifth off of relief pitcher Frankie Venezia. Frankie would walk the first two hitters he faced. Then a sac-bunt by SS Camden Rush put both runners in scoring position. The first run scored on a sac fly to CF by Zackarie Casebonne. The second one came across the plate on a fielding error by River Hawks SS Genther, 2-2 in the fifth.

The middle innings is where the game was lost by UMass Lowell and won by Dartmouth College. In the fourth, the River Hawks loaded the bases vs Nate Isler. Two base hits by Trey Brown and Hernandez, followed by a HBP to Genther had UMass Lowell in business. But Isler got out of trouble by getting Kelly, Luccini, and catcher Scott Donahue to strike out. In the fifth, UMass Lowell loaded the bases again vs Isler. Three straight hits by Martinez, DH Ryan Proto, and 3rd baseman Brandon Fish set up a great chance with no one out. A pitching change was made by Big Green head coach Nico Bafiez. Out was Isler and in came Danny Will. He would get Trey Brown to pop out to the pitcher, then Hernandez to ground into a 6-4-3 twin killing to end the frame.

The Big Green’s big inning was the sixth off of Hoyt. The freshman did not do himself any favors by walking the first batter he faced and then hitting two others. With one out, Hower stepped up and delivered a line drive grand slam HR over the wall in left for his first of the year. The four RBI give him 13 on the season. Hoyt was replaced by Kevin Rourke who gave up the fifth run of the inning on an RBI single by Casebonne to make it 7-2 Dartmouth College after six innings.

Three more Big Green relievers took care of the final three innings to give Dartmouth College the 7-2 win. Will gets the win and he is now 2-0. Hoyt takes the loss and he is 0-1. Coach Barese talked at length about the need to do a much better job at the plate with runners in scoring position. He felt like his hitters were getting hitters counts, but not doing anything with them. That much change for the River Hawks.

They will head back to conference play this weekend with a trip to Binghamton University for a three-game series starting on Friday afternoon. Brendan Williams will get the ball on Friday for the River Hawks. Gabe Driscoll will toe the rubber for the Bearcats. First pitch is set for 3 PM.