River Hawks Swept: Bryant Bullpen Shuts Down UMass Lowell in Sunday Finale

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These are trying times for the UMass Lowell River Hawks (16–22, 6–12 AE). On Sunday afternoon at LeLacheur Park, the River Hawks were swept by the Bryant University Bulldogs (22–18, 10–8 AE) in a 4–2 loss. Despite a brilliant performance on the mound from starter Nolan Geisler, the River Hawks’ bats went silent when it mattered most, leaving the team with only two conference series remaining to save their season.

Early Momentum for the River Hawks

UMass Lowell jumped out to an early lead in the third inning against Bryant starter Cole Schiff.

The Rally: After Rowan Masse singled and moved up on a wild pitch, he swiped third base to put the pressure on.
The Scoring: Catcher Scott Donahue then drilled a triple off the left-field wall to score Masse. On the very next pitch, Nicholas Soliranzo singled to center, driving home Donahue to give the River Hawks a 2–0 lead.

Garcia Answers the Bell

Geisler was nearly flawless for the River Hawks, but his one mistake came in the fourth inning. After Casey Wensley reached on a leadoff single, Ellis Garcia launched a two-run home run—his 11th of the season. The blast tied the game at 2–2 and gave Garcia 39 RBI on the year.

A Tale of Two Pitching Staffs

From that point on, the game became a masterclass in pitching.

Geisler’s Gem: Geisler turned in his best and longest outing of the season, pounding the strike zone for 7.2 innings, allowing just 4 hits and 2 earned runs with no walks and five strikeouts. Head coach Nick Barese called the performance “fantastic.”
The Bryant Wall: While Geisler was great, the Bryant bullpen was untouchable. Thomas Galusha retired all nine hitters he faced in three innings of relief. Justin Dressler followed suit, allowing just one hit over the final three innings to earn his third win of the year.

The Stat: Over the final 6.1 innings, Bryant pitching retired 18 of the final 20 River Hawks hitters they faced.

Bulldogs Strike Late

Facing UML reliever Jake LeFrancois, the Bulldogs scratched across the winning runs in the final two frames:

The 8th Inning: Wensley led off with a single and was driven home from first base on a gap-shot double by Carlos Irizarry, giving Bryant their first lead at 3–2.
The 9th Inning: A fielding error and a double by Cam Papetti put runners in scoring position. After an intentional walk to Gavin Greger (who robbed UML of two extra-base hits earlier with stellar defense), LeFrancois walked Justin Hackett with the bases loaded to make it 4–2.

Looking Ahead

Coach Barese noted after the game that Greger was a “very good player” whose defensive range stifled the UML offense. For the River Hawks, the path to the postseason is narrowing. They currently sit at 4–5 at home in America East play and face a grueling schedule ahead.

Up Next: UMass Lowell hosts No. 22 Boston College on Tuesday night before embarking on a season-defining seven-game road trip.

Box Score Highlights

Player	Team	Stats
Nolan Geisler	UML	7.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO
Justin Dressler	Bryant	3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER (W, 3-0)
Ellis Garcia	Bryant	1-for-3, HR, 3 RBI
Scott Donahue	UML	1-for-4, 3B, RBI