KISSIMMEE, FL (Mar. 21, 2008) – Junior Stacey Lajoie (Gardner, MA) batted a collective 3 for 7 with two home runs as UMass Lowell suffered a 3-1 loss to Augustana (SD) and defeated Northern State (SD), 5-2, Friday afternoon to finish its nine-game schedule in Florida.

With the split, UML stands at 3-6 entering next Saturday’s home twin bill against Southern Connecticut (1:00). Augustana improved to 8-5 while Northern State slipped to 1-13.

In the loss to Augustana, UML trailed 3-0 entering the bottom of the seventh inning when Lajoie uncorked a solo shot, but could creep no closer. Lajoie batted 1 for 3 while senior Julie Brodie (Chelmsford, MA) went 1 for 2 with a single and a sacrifice bunt.

AU was led by sophomore Amber Bollmann and senior Allie Hubers who each had RBI singles in the third inning.

Sophomore pitcher Lindsay Farmer (Kingston, NH) took the loss to slip to 1-3 as she allowed eight hits, three walks and three earned runs while striking out three. Junior Kelly Ottis improved to 5-1 with the win.

In the win over Northern State, freshman Hilary Hopkins (Poway, CA) batted 3 for 4 with two singles, a triple, one RBI and one run while Lajoie went 2 for 4 with a double and home run. Sophomore Heather Ross (Waltham, MA) went 3 for 3 (singles).

Freshman pitcher Emily Wolf (Salem, NH) earned the win for UML as she allowed one walk and one hit while striking out three over the final 2.1 innings for her first collegiate win. Junior Breanna Milnes took the loss for NSU.

Milnes also led Wolves offensively, batting 2 for 4.

NSU took a 2-1 lead in the fourth when sophomore Tara Bruns drove in two runs with a single. The River Hawks, however, responded with a two-run double by Wolf in the sixth and a two-run home by Lajoie for the win.