SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Sophomore Brayden Cali (Taunton, Mass.) went 2-for-3 with a double and run scored, as the UMass Lowell baseball team (3-7) pulled even late in the game before San Francisco (8-7) came out on top, 8-2, on Monday afternoon.
Freshman Cal Chance (Wolcott, Conn.) registered a double, a run and an RBI in the contest, while junior Rowan Masse (Manchester, Conn.) and graduate student Nicholas Solorzano (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) each tallied a hit, as well. Freshman Colin Ducie (Plymouth, Mass.) got his first collegiate start on the bump, pitching 4.0 innings to record three strikeouts, while allowing just one hit and one run. Sophomore Jake Zawatsky (Billerica, Mass.) pitched 1.0 inning with a strikeout, as junior Evan Cornelius (Milford, Mass.) also went 1.0 inning with two strikeouts. Freshman Tyler Dunlea (Attleboro, Mass.) made the first appearance of his collegiate career, tossing two strikeouts in one inning of play with no hits or runs.
The first ended scoreless for both sides, with Ducie tallying a strikeout before the defense closed the frame on a groundout. Up to bat in the second, Solorzano stroked a first-pitch single to left field, but the home team was able to escape the top half. The defense for UMass Lowell was on it once again in the bottom of the inning, as Masse made a diving catch on a line drive, completing a double play to end the inning. Ducie continued his great outing with two straight strikeouts in the third before an unassisted putout by redshirt-sophomore Sean O’Leary (Foxboro, Mass.) finished off the frame.
The Dons started to click on offense, jumping in front first with a run in both the fourth and fifth innings to make it 2-0. UMass Lowell remained steadfast, though, as Cali led off the sixth with a double to left, followed by a RBI double from Chance to score the sophomore and cut the difference in half, 2-1. Graduate student Jorge Burgos (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) then sacrifice bunted m, advancing Chance before O’Leary sent the freshman home on a sacrifice fly to even the score, 2-2.
San Francisco answered in the bottom half of the sixth, with five runs to retake the lead, 7-2. The Dons added a one-run double in the seventh, but Cornelius ended the inning with a punchout, looking to regain momentum with two frames left. Although Cali posted a single in the eighth hunting for a late surge, the home side kept any runners from reaching home, eventually sealing the 8-2 victory on Monday afternoon.
The River Hawks remain on the West Coast, as they travel to Sacramento State tomorrow, March 10, for a midweek contest at John Smith Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET.