River Hawks earn 8-0 shutout in game one, then out-slug Ravens, 12-7, in game two

Boxscore Game One
Boxscore Game Two

LOWELL, Mass. (April 1, 2008) – The University of Massachusetts-Lowell scored 20 runs on 27 hits as the River Hawks swept a doubleheader from Franklin Pierce University in Northeast-10 Conference softball action on Tuesday night at River View Field. UMass Lowell shut out Franklin Pierce, 8-0, in the front end before scoring in every inning in a 12-7 victory in game two.

Senior captains Jachael Guanci (Everett, Mass.) and Julie Brodie (Chelmsford, Mass.) were the two offensive stars for the River Hawks. Guanci went 5-for-7 with five runs batted in and five runs scored in the two games, while Brodie went 4-for-8 with an RBI and four runs scored.

Junior Elaine Matthews (Roslindale, Mass./Archbishop Williams) and freshman Erin Clark (Fort Ann, N.Y./Fort Ann) each had two hits on the day for the Ravens, with Matthews going 2-for-7 with an RBI in the two games and Clark hitting 2-for-3 and scoring a run in game two.


UMass Lowell 8, Franklin Pierce 0 (five innings)

In the first game of the day, UMass Lowell sophomore Lindsay Farmer (Kingston, N.H.) allowed only two hits in five innings as the River Hawks cruised to an 8-0 victory.

Farmer (5-5) struck out one and walked three in her complete-game outing, while the home team gave her all the support she needed with a four-run bottom of the first inning against Raven junior Courtney Jacobs (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg). Guanci singled to plate Brodie for the team’s first run, and the team followed with three more hits in a row, including a key two-run single from freshman Hilary Hopkins (San Diego, Calif.) that provided the final two runs.

The River Hawks added a pair of unearned runs in the third inning to take a 6-0 advantage, and then tacked on single runs in the fourth and fifth inning to end the game after 4 2/3 innings.

Jacobs (0-5) continued to struggle in the circle for Franklin Pierce, as she gave up seven runs (five earned) on nine hits in three-plus innings. The Raven junior struck out one and walked one before giving way to freshman Caitlin Beagan (Warwick, R.I./Pilgrim), who allowed one unearned run on two hits in 1 2/3 innings of work.


UMass Lowell 12, Franklin Pierce 7

The Franklin Pierce bats came alive in the back end of the doubleheader, but Guanci had a monster day at the plate for UMass Lowell as the River Hawks completed the sweep with a 12-7 win.

Guanci hit a perfect 4-for-4 in the game with two home runs, four RBI and four runs scored, while senior Laurie Tanguay (Lowell, Mass.) went 2-for-4, including a home run, with a pair of RBI and two runs scored to pace the UML attack.

Franklin Pierce scored one run in the top of the first inning on an RBI single from sophomore Kristen Tracy (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Walter Panas) to take an early lead, but the River Hawks responded with four in the bottom of the frame to gain the lead. Guanci slammed her first home run of the day with Brodie on first base to give the home team a 2-1 lead, and an error by senior captain Kate Surgen (Southampton, Mass./Hampshire Regional) with the bases loaded allowed two more runs to cross the plate.

The Ravens would not go quietly, however, taking advantage of three UML errors to score four times in the third inning. Surgen began the rally by reaching base on an error, and eventually scored on a wild pitch by freshman pitcher Nicole Monroe (Townsend, Mass.). Sophomore Jenna Hunt (Winchendon, Mass./Murdock) drove in a run when she reached on an error later in the inning, and also forced in a run when her subsequent stolen base attempt drew a bad throw, scoring senior Nicole Leary (Hanover, Mass./Hanover). Hunt later came around to score herself, thanks to a sacrifice fly off the bat of freshman Emily Griffin (Leominster, Mass./Leominster).

But UMass Lowell came right back in the bottom of the third, as freshman Hannah May (Hardwick, Mass.) led off with a bunt single and was given a pass around the bases due to a pair of Raven errors. The team then added three runs in the fourth inning, helped by a two-run shot from Tanguay, to cement the lead.

Monroe (2-0) earned the win with five solid innings of relief, giving up two unearned runs on two hits while striking out seven batters. Raven freshman Kayla Johnson (Hudson, N.H./Alvirne) took the loss (1-4), allowing 10 runs (eight earned) and 12 hits in 3 2/3 innings, striking out three and walking two.

Franklin Pierce (1-13, 0-4 NE-10) returns to conference play on Thursday afternoon with a doubleheader at Stonehill College beginning at 3:30 p.m. UMass Lowell (6-7, 3-1 NE-10) travels to Bentley College for a pair of games tomorrow at 3 p.m.