River Hawks Take Game One from NJIT, 11-2

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Sometimes, all it takes is a little lineup tinkering to get positive results. At LeLacheur Park on Friday night, River Hawks head coach Nick Barese made some adjustments to the batting order in hopes of adding some length. Mission accomplished, as every member of the starting nine recorded at least one hit and seven of the nine collected RBIs. UMass Lowell (12-17, 4-6) took the first game of an important weekend series against NJIT (10-18, 2-8) by a score of 11-2.

The improved batting order put up crooked numbers in two separate frames. In the first, they tagged Highlanders starting pitcher Josh Willitts for a four-spot. Then in the eighth, they sent 11 men to the plate against reliever Tate Jones, scoring six runs to bust the game open. Three River Hawks hitters finished with multi-hit games. The primary benefactor of the offensive outburst was Alfred Mucciarone (2-2), who performed in front of several pro scouts, allowing nine hits and two earned runs over 5.1 innings.

The first crooked number came early. Eight men batted in the first inning, and four scored against Willitts. Cal Chance started the rally with a base hit to right, advancing to second on a fielding error by Highlanders right fielder Brady Levin. One batter later, Zachary Scott—one of the changes in the River Hawks lineup—ripped a single to right to score Chance for a 1-0 lead. Scott later scored on a base hit to right by Jorge Burgos (2-for-4, 2 R, 1 RBI). The lead grew to 4-0 on a two-run double down the right-field line by Nicholas Solanzzano (2-for-5, 2 RBI, 2 R) that brought home Burgos and Sean O’Leary.

Mucciarone, whom his head coach said “looked sharp today,” gave up an RBI base hit to Lorenzo Camillien that scored Jack Stead in the third to make it 4-1. The only other run Alfred surrendered was in the sixth. After UML increased the lead to 5-1 on an O’Leary sacrifice fly that brought home Brayden Cali, the Highlanders responded with three straight hits to the right side. The third hit, by Rowan O’Connor (3-for-4, 1 RBI), made it a 5-2 game. Mucciarone departed after that hit and turned the game over to Brian Foley. Foley tossed the next 1.2 innings, allowing no hits or runs while striking out two. It appears Barese has found a reliable role for Foley out of the bullpen, as this was his third straight scoreless outing.

Willitts went 6.2 innings, giving up six hits and five runs (three earned) with three walks and two strikeouts. He turned the ball over to Tate Jones, who struck out Carlos Martinez to end the seventh before running into significant trouble in the eighth. Three key hits by the River Hawks produced six runs in the frame. Joseph DeLanzo struck first with a two-run single down the left-field line to make it 7-2. Next was Chance (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI) with a two-run single into the left-center gap. Martinez then got his revenge on Jones with a double over the head of left fielder Connor Rippo to push the UML lead to 11-2. Jones’ final line: 1.1 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO.

Frankie DeMaro closed out the game, retiring NJIT in the ninth with the help of a game-ending double play.

After the 11-2 victory, there was not much coach Barese was unhappy about. He noted that his offense put together “some really good at-bats,” praised his four pitchers as “fantastic,” and expressed satisfaction with the defense. Now comes the hard part: this is UMass Lowell’s fourth conference series, and in each of the previous three, they won the first game only to lose the next two. On Saturday, Jacob Jette will get the ball to try and buck that trend. First pitch is set for 6 PM.