Colleges: Despite two home runs, UML baseball team falls to Maine

One day after a nine-run victory over Maine, the UMass Lowell baseball team fell 9-5 to the Black Bears during America East action at LeLacheur Park in Lowell.

Despite the game being played in 35-degree temperatures, the River Hawks received a pair of home runs.

Catcher Nicholas Solorzano blasted a solo homer to right field in the second inning. In the ninth inning, first baseman Sean O’Leary ripped a pitch over the fence in right field.

UML managed eight hits. O’Leary led the offense, going 2-for-5 with an RBI and scoring two runs. Center fielder Carlos Martinez went 2-for-5 and drove in one run. Third baseman Joseph DeLanzo went 1-for-4 and collected one RBI.

But three UML pitchers allowed 14 hits to Maine, which scored twice in the second inning, three runs in the fourth and two more runs in the seventh.

Taking the loss was Brian Foley (0-2). Foley allowed seven hits and five earned runs, while striking out four, in 3.1 innings. He was followed on the mound by Nolan Geisler, who yielded seven hits and two earned runs in 3.2 innings.

Track

A group of runners from the UMass Lowell men’s and women’s outdoor track and field team competed on the final day of the Raleigh Relays on Saturday afternoon in Raleigh, N.C.

Junior Emily Burdick (Billerica) kicked off the day in the women’s 800-meter run, finishing in 156th place with a 2:17.20 mark.

Next was the women’s 200, where junior Jayani Santos (Tewksbury) impressed with a 39th-place performance out of 149 runners in 24.75.

The men followed, starting with sophomore Michael Fisher (Wallingford, Conn.) in the 200. He claimed 80th place in 22.46. The 800m run closed out the weekend and graduate student Graham Stedfast (Rowley) and senior Basit Iddriss (Milford) ran well. Stedfast finished in 29th place with a time of 1:51.33, while Iddriss claimed 113th place in 1:53.98.

“It was a good finish to the trip,” said UML head coach Gary Gardner. “Mike and Jayani ran solid second races for the weekend. Emily and Basit had their fastest openers ever. Graham had an illness and lost 10 pounds last week so we are very pleased with his race.”

Women’s lacrosse

In Lowell, senior Macy Shultz (Adams, N.Y.) posted a team-high five points, but UMass Lowell fell 16-10 to the Bryant Bulldogs in the team’s first home conference game of the season.

“A bit of a broken record here,” said UML head coach Lisa Miller. “We are competing. We had players who made and were trying to make plays. We need to keep scrapping, trying to come up with draw control and clear the ball. We are playing good defense and scoring consistently. Need to find a way to generate more offensive possessions.”

Shultz, who finished with three goals and two assists, was one of six River Hawks (4-7, 0-2 AE) to record at least a goal in the contest. Senior Grace Lydon (Rowley) collected two goals and two assists, while junior Bronwyn Hilbert (Lancaster, Pa.) added three points off a goal and two assists.

Junior Chloe Bowers (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) added a pair of goals, while sophomore Georgia Ruscitti (Toronto, Ontario) and redshirt freshman Chiara Pompei (Catonsville, Md.) each tallied a goal.

The River Hawks went straight to work, as Hilbert found Shultz open for the first goal of the contest just over a minute in. Only a few minutes later, the hosts struck again, this time with Lydon finding the back of the net off a Hilbert assist, putting her squad in front 2-0. The Bulldogs retaliated with haste, though, scoring four straight to take a 4-2 lead into the second quarter.

The River Hawks will visit the Binghamton Bearcats next Saturday.

Men’s lacrosse

Endicott College defeated Roger Williams, 19-3, in Conference of New England action at Hempstead Stadium in Beverly.

Adam Priest (Billerica) and Manny Marshall (Chelmsford) found the back of the net twice in the wire-to-wire victory.