America East Baseball: Two Rivers Hawks sign with Frontier League

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We are a week away from the MLB draft that will take place at the site of this year’s All-Star game in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s always a special time for college and high school players across the country. However, not every player decides to wait for the draft. Two members of this past spring’s UMass Lowell Rivers Hawks have decided to forgo the draft and sign with teams in the Frontier League.

Dylan Bedder and Kevin Zarnoch are both members of the River Hawks pitching staff, and they have signed contracts with teams in this league. Betdder signed with the Brockton Rox, and Zarnoch with the New Jersey Jackals. Bedder was a member of the bullpen for UMass Lowell and served as the closer for the team. This past spring, he had a record of 1-3 with a 5.08 ERA. In 28.1 IP over 20 appearances. He allowed 21 hits and 16 earned runs, struck out 32, and walked 22. He finished the season with four saves, all of those saves in America East play.

For Bedder, 2025 was his best spring with the program. For his career at UMass Lowell, he has a 1-3 record in 27 appearances, a 6.49 ERA, 34.2 IP, 31 hits, 25 earned runs, 40 strikeouts to 27 walks. He was beset by injuries throughout his time with the River Hawks. This spring, he was injury-free and put up decent numbers. Since joining the Rox, Bedder has been in 16 games with a 4.21 ERA, 21.1 IP, 16 hits allowed, and 16 walks to 26 strikeouts. He has not recorded a decision yet. He has been scored upon in only two of his last 10 appearances dating back to June 8.

Zarnoch had a dual role with the staff, starting some games and also coming out of the pen. Overall, in 2025, he made 22 appearances, with 8 of them being starts. He had a 1-7 record with an 8.87 ERA. In 47.2 IP, he allowed 66 hits, 50 runs, 47 were earned, walked 30, and struck out 47. At times, he was a little wild as he hit 19 batters. The hitters hit .316 against him. For his career, Zarnoch is 1-8 with a high ERA of 9.10. In 62.1 IP, he gave up 83 hits, and 66 runs, of which 63 were earned.. He walked 42 and struck out 55. He was credited with two saves, both of them coming this past spring. The lone win of his career came in his next-to-last mound appearance for UMass Lowell on the road at Rhode Island. He would go five innings and allow two hits and a run. He walked six and struck out four. That outing was his longest of the season. Since joining the Jackals, Zarnoch has been put into the starting rotation. He has a 0-2 record with a 7.85 ERA, and in four starts covering 18.1 IP, he has allowed 22 hits and walked just 7 with 13 strikeouts. He was placed on the 60-day disabled list on June 27.