LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell baseball team (6-14, 1-4 AE) earned its first home win of the season with a 4-3 victory over the Binghamton Bearcats (4-14, 1-4 AE) on Saturday afternoon.
"We needed to get that win, we've been in enough close games," said head coach
Ken Harring. "The two-out double from Ryan [Proto] was big for us and gave us a shot. Jimmy [Sullivan] has an unbelievable approach and he found a hole to put us ahead. Good win for us, I think we're in good shape for tomorrow and we'll be ready to go again."
Freshman
Jacob Humphrey (Standish, Maine) went 3-3 on the afternoon, earning one RBI and scoring two runs. Senior
Robert Gallagher (Mullica Hill, N.J.) tallied two hits and two RBIs in four at-bats to go with one stolen base. Graduate student
Ryan Towle (Westfield, Mass.) got the start and struck out six in 7.0 innings, allowing five hits and two earned runs. Sophomore
Brendan Williams (Auburn, N.Y.) and senior
Joshua Becker (Burlington, Mass.) helped close out the victory for the River Hawks.
UMass Lowell got on the board in the second inning as Humphrey hit a single to center to bring in junior
Ryan Proto (Centerville, Mass.) for a 1-0 lead. Towle pitched well for the River Hawks, getting out of the third with a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts. The graduate student picked up his fourth strikeout, pitching a scoreless fourth inning.
The River Hawks added to the lead in the fifth as Humphrey came up big again. The freshman singled to left to start the inning. After a sacrifice bunt moved Humphrey to second, Gallagher hit an RBI double to bring in the freshman and give the hosts a 2-0 lead.
Binghamton did not go away quietly, battling back with a string of hits and two runs in the sixth and seventh innings to tie the game at 2-2. Humphrey continued to drive the offense and singled up the middle to kick things off in the bottom of the seventh. Gallagher picked up his second RBI of the day with a single that brought in Humphrey and put UMass Lowell ahead 3-2.
Williams entered the game in the eighth inning for Towle. An RBI single tied the game 3-3 before a 6-4-3 double play ended the inning. In the eighth, Proto doubled to left to put the leading run in scoring position. Sophomore
Jimmy Sullivan (East Hampton, Conn.) stepped up to the plate and hit a single to right, scoring Proto and giving the River Hawks a 4-3 lead late in the game.
Becker came into the game for Williams in the ninth inning. The senior forced a ground out and fly out to left, but with a runner on second, the hosts needed the veteran to close out the game. Becker did just that, striking out Isaiah Corry to secure the victory for the River Hawks.
Game three of the series is set for 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 27 at LeLacheur Park.
