River Hawks Sweep Sunday Doubleheader at Binghamton to Win Series 2-1

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VESTAL, N.Y. – The UMass Lowell baseball team (11-17, 4-4 AE) swept the Sunday doubleheader against the Binghamton Bearcats (12-14, 3-5 AE) to win the series 2-1. The River Hawks took game one 7-5 before an offensive explosion led to a 17-4 win in the series finale.

“Complete team effort. We got solid contributions from our bullpen in game one, and gritty, tough at bats,” said head coach Nick Barese. “Game two, Miles Cota was really good, and our offense never let up. Trey Brown, River Hart and Alex Luccini led the way, and there were so many two-strike, two-out hits and meaningful at bats.”

Game 1

Freshman James Capellupo (Hilton, N.Y.) earned the win to improve to 3-1 on the season after 1.1 innings with two strikeouts. Freshman Alfred Mucciarone (Franklin, Mass.) got the start and looked strong with four strikeouts in 3.2 innings of work. Senior Zach Fortuna (Newburyport, Mass.) and sophomore Brian Foley (Milton, Mass.) combined to close the game for the River Hawks with Foley earning his first save of the season.

Seniors Trey Brown (Rochester, N.Y.) and Roddy Hernandez (Jersey City, N.J.) and sophomore Carlos Martinez (Coamo, Puerto Rico) each tallied two hits with Brown and Hernandez each with two RBIs. Martinez and graduate student Ryan Proto (Centerville, Mass.) had one RBI each while junior Alex Luccini (Hopedale, Mass.) scored two runs.

The offense got started early in game one of the doubleheader with Trey Brown hitting a leadoff single. Alex Luccini also tallied a hit before coming in to score behind a Carlos Martinez double down the right field line. Mucciarone opened the game with a strikeout before Brandon Fish made a nice play on a tough hop to get the second out at the first. A flyout ended the first frame with UMass Lowell in front by one.

Binghamton tied the game in the bottom of the second before a walk loaded the bases with no outs for the hosts. Mucciarone came back with back-to-back strikeouts, but a walk gave the Bearcats a 2-1 lead. The freshman tallied his fourth punchout of the afternoon to end the second. A solo home run in the third put the hosts in front 3-1 through three.

UMass Lowell cut the lead down to one after Conor Kelly’s RBI groundout brought in Luccini for his second run of the day. The River Hawks loaded the bases again with two outs, but the runners were left stranded. The defense turned a 5-4-3 double play before Binghamton loaded the bases. James Capellupo entered the game with two outs and struck out Haskell to escape the jam and end the frame. Binghamton restored the two-run lead with one run coming across in the fifth.

Freshman Scott Donahue (Medfield, Mass.) drew a leadoff walk and hits from Conor Kelly and Brandon Fish loaded the bases in the top of the sixth for the River Hawks. Roddy Hernandez followed with a double to left center to score two runs and tie the game. After a pitching change, Trey Brown drove in two more with a single to give UMass Lowell a 6-4 lead.

Zach Fortuna took over for the sixth inning and threw a strong 1-2-3 frame. Ryan Proto’s RBI single in the top of the seventh gave the River Hawks a 7-4 lead heading into the final frame of game one.

Brian Foley came in for the seventh and found himself in a jam with two on and no outs. The sophomore settled and forced a pop up before striking out Bade for the second out. A double scored one to make it 7-5 before Binghamton loaded the bases. A fly out ended game one and the River Hawks tied the weekend series.

Game 2

The River Hawks’ offense exploded in game two with senior Fritz Genther (Kingston, N.Y.), Alex Luccini, freshman River Hart (Nashua, N.H.) and Brandon Fish each tallied three hits on the day. Freshman Sean O’Leary (Foxboro, Mass.), Trey Brown and Conor Kelly tallied two hits apiece and combined for four RBIs. Luccini led the offense with four RBIs and four runs.

Graduate student Miles Cota (Hampstead, NC) improved to 1-1 with a strong performance on the bump, going 6.0 innings and striking out one. Freshmen Cam Sime (Pittsfield, Mass.) and James Capellupo each threw 1.0 scoreless inning and junior LJ Keevan (Holden, Mass.) struck out one to close finish the ninth inning.

Binghamton took a 2-0 lead in the first inning of game two, but the River Hawks answered in the second. Sean O’Leary scored on a wild pitch before an RBI groundout from Hernandez tied the game. Brandon Fish then scored on a wild pitch to give UMass Lowell a 3-2 edge. Miles Cota got out of a jam in the second to preserve the lead for the visitors. Alex Luccini scored on a wild pitch in the third to make it a 4-2 game.

Ryan Proto drew a leadoff walk before Trey Brown’s two-out double down the left field line put runners on second and third for the River Hawks. Frtiz Genther singled to center field and tallied two RBIs to push the lead to 6-2. Cota tallied his first strikeout of the afternoon to close the fourth and keep UMass Lowell ahead by four.

River Hart hit a one-out ground-rule double in the top of the fifth and came in to score after Conor Kelly hit one into right field, pushing the lead to five runs. Cota stayed in control on the mound, throwing a fourth straight scoreless frame after retiring the side in order in the fifth.

Trey Brown stayed hot with a double down the left field line in the top of the sixth, moving runners to second and third with one out. Genther’s sacrifice fly scored Proto and gave UMass Lowell an 8-2 lead. Alex Luccini followed with a blast to right field to make it 10-2, his sixth homer of the year. Binghamton tacked on one in the bottom half of the inning to cut the lead to seven.

Cam Sime took over on the mound for the seventh as Cota finished a strong 6.0 inning outing with one strikeout. The Bearcats tallied one run with two outs, cutting the lead to six. Alex Luccini’s RBI single made it 11-2 before River Hart drove the junior in to push the lead to eight runs. Hart then stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error before scoring on Sean O’Leary’s RBI single as the River Hawks took a 13-4 lead.

James Capellupo entered for the eighth and struck out one in a scoreless inning. Hernandez scored on a bases loaded walk as UMass Lowell opened a 10-run lead. Graduate student Matt Tobin (Poland, N.Y.) was hit by a pitch to score another run and extend the lead. Conor Kelly brought in two with a double to right center to cap of a four-run inning with UMass Lowell ahead 17-4.

LJ Keevan entered the game for the ninth and struck out one while the defense turned a 4-6-3 double play to secure the win. UMass Lowell wins the series 2-1 over Binghamton and improves to 4-4 in conference play.