UMass Lowell avoids sweep with 7-6 win over UMBC

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You never know how a season will play out, but Sunday afternoon’s win by the UMass Lowell River Hawks (13-21, 5-7) over the UMBC (13-16, 6-6) may be looked back upon as the most important of the year. Not only did it snap a 5-game losing streak for the River Hawks, but it came against a team that they have trouble putting away. UMass Lowell has had leads in five of the six games played between the two teams. However, they have managed to win two of those games. Sunday’s win got a little dicey as well.

Why? Because the Retrievers had the bases loaded in the top of the ninth against River Hawks relief pitcher Dylan Bedder (first save of the year), down by only a run. Bedder faced Derek Parris, who hit a soft line drive to UML SS Brayden Cali, who made the catch going to his left, then had the presence of mind to flip the ball to second baseman Rowan Masse, who stepped on second base before UMBC 1st baseman Leewood Molessa could get back to the bag. A bad baserunning play helped the River Hawks salvage a game from this series.

UMass Lowell sent Kevin Zarnoch to the mound to start Sunday’s game. His coach, Nick Barese, said, “Zarnoch was on a short lease.” After hitting the first two hitters he faced, Zarnoch got out of the first inning with some help from UMBC. A bad pickoff attempt by Zarnoch led to an out on the basepaths. Then he got Molessa looking and Danny Orr swinging to end the inning. UML jumped out to a 1-0 lead against UMBC’s Zach Robinson (0-4) in the third inning. They got three straight hits from Scott Donahue (2-for-5, 2 RS, RBI), Alex Luccini (2-for-3, 2 RS), and Brandon Fish ( 3-for-4, RS, 4 RBI), giving them the lead. It would be Fish’s base hit to center field that scored Donahue with the game’s first run.

Zarnoch’s first-inning adventure led to a pitching change. In from the River Hawks bullpen came Nick DiRito, who blew a save in game one of Friday’s doubleheader. DiRito was much better on Sunday, even though his final line does not reflect that (5.2 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 K’s). When asked about the differences between the two outings, his coach said, “throwing multiple pitches for strikes.” He would give up the lead in the fifth with a walk and a base hit from Sergio Droz, putting runners on base. A wild pitch moved both runners up 90 feet. An infield hit to the shortstop hole scored Danny Wyatt. Then a sac-fly from Jesiah Carpenter scored the second run. 2-1 in the third.

The River Hawks got those runs back in their half of the fifth. After getting the first two men out, Robinson ran into trouble. Three straight hits did the trick. First, Luccini, who also stole a base, his eighth of the year. He scored on a Fish single to RF that tied the game at 2-2. Carlos Martinez extended his hitting streak to 12 games by beating out an infield hit to SS. A Conor Kelly base hit to CF scored Fish and ended Robinson’s day (4.2 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO), and on came Sam Bell from the UMBC bullpen. A double steal plated the third run as Martinez crossed home plate. 4-2 River Hawks after five innings.

UMass Lowell scored three more times in the sixth inning off Bell. A booming double to the warning track in left by Donahue scored Cali from first base after he walked with two outs. Luccini was intentionally walked, and Fish delivered a two-run base hit to CF that scored both Donahue and Luccini to make it a 7-2 game. Fish now has 27 RBI on the season. DiRito started to lose steam in the seventh, after retiring the first two hitters. A single by Kyle Eddington (2-for-3, 1 RS, 1 RBI) brought the top of the order back around. A Carpenter single to right was followed by an international walk to Anthony Mascuilli to load the bases. With the River Hawks’ bullpen working, Barese decided to stick with DiRito. He faced Molessa, who cleared the bases with a double to right center field. Molessa now has 33 RBI on the year. DiRito (3-0) day was done. Andres Hulfachor came on and got the final out to end the seventh.

UMBC called on Nick Remy to keep the game close. Remy would do just that as he faced seven batters over two innings and gave up only one hit to LF Ryan Strand (2-for-3). Meanwhile, the River Hawks went back to their pen and called on Dylan Bedder to close the game. His eighth inning was fine, but the ninth was a little shaky. After striking out Eddington to begin the ninth, he walked Carpenter, then Mascuilli doubled to RF to score Carpenter to make it a one-run game at 7-6. Molessa was then intentionally walked, and Danny Orr was then hit by a pitch to load the bases. With the game on the line, Bedder got Derek Parris to hit a soft line drive that River Hawks SS Brayden Cail made the catch, then flipped to Rowan Masse to complete the game-ending double play. The River Hawks win a much-needed 7-6 game over UMBC.

The coach praised Cali for his “heads up play” and thought Bedder battled his way through to get his first save. The River Hawks have only one mid-week game, Tuesday afternoon. Then, they hosted Merrimack, before a short weekend series at Bryant next weekend.