Lowell, Mass. (April 2) -- The baseball team dropped a pair of games on Wednesday to UMass Lowell at LeLacheur Park. The Hawks dropped the afternoon game, 9-5 in one extra frame, while the nightcap saw the Hawks drop a 5-2 contest to the River Hawks. With the pair of wins, the River Hawks improve to 8-13, 5-2 Northeast-10. The Hawks drop to 5-13, 1-6 in conference play with the two losses.

GAME 1
The Hawks wasted no time getting on the board in the first game, as they struck for a pair of runs in the first. After a Matt Stone (West Roxbury, Mass.) single and a double from Ryan Gargan (Byfield, Mass.), the Hawks put runners on second and third with one out. A single from Ryan O'Rourke (Norwood, Mass.) brought in both runs, as he picked up his sixth and seventh RBI of the season.

UMass Lowell responded in the top of the third inning with three runs and tacked on an insurance run in the fourth to take a 4-2 lead. Mark Wiggins (Rochester, N.H.) reached base on a hit by pitch, while Sean Burns (Colchester, Vt.) singled a batter later. An Anthony Santos (Chelmsford, Mass.) double brought in Wiggins. A Tim Manton (Swansea, Mass.) single then brought in Burns and Santos. Luke Wallace (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) tripled to open up the fourth inning and scored on a Jared Notargiacomo (Newburyport, Mass.) single a batter later.

The Hawks came back with a single run in the bottom of the fourth to cut the lead to one. Stone doubled to right center to lead off the inning, then Gargan's single up the middle brought him in.

UMass Lowell then made it 5-3 in the top of the seventh. Burns singled and Santos doubled to put runners on second and third with one out. Manton doubled to bring in Burns.

The Hawks tied it up at five in the bottom of the inning though. Gargan singled to open the inning and Ryan O'Rourke reached on an error a batter later. A Ben Gunn (Vineyard Haven, Mass.) sacrifice bunt moved up both runners. Eric Baca's (Franklin, N.H.) ground out brought in Gargan. Nick Moreau (Manchester, N.H.) then reached on an error by the shortstop, as Ryan O'Rourke scored on the play to tie the game up.

Neither team managed to score before the end of the ninth, and the game went into the 10th inning knotted at five. The River Hawks exploded for four runs in the inning and came away with the victory.

Nick Barese (Braintree, Mass.) got the no-decision on the hill for the Hawks as he went seven innings allowing nine hits and five earned runs with two walks and eight strikeouts. Tim Ryan (Milton, Mass.) picked up the loss going two innings, allowing two hits and one run picking up a pair of strikeouts. David Giarrusso (Cranston, R.I.) came on in the 10th, allowing three hits and three runs, all unearned, while picking up a strikeout.

James Barry (Chelmsford, Mass.) got the no-decision for the River Hawks, throwing 6.2 innings, allowing six hits and five runs, three earned, picking up four strikeouts. Matt Monico (Tewksbury, Mass.) got the win, throwing 2.1 innings of hitless ball with a walk, while Derek Anderson (Dracut, Mass.) threw a perfect 10th inning.

GAME 2
The River Hawks only scored in one frame of the nightcap, but that proved to be all the team needed to hold off the Hawks, 5-2.

Saint Anselm's Starting pitcher Andrew Long (Peabody, Mass.) held UMass Lowell scoreless through the first four frames only allowing two hits and picking up four strikeouts in the process, but the River Hawks broke it open in the fifth. After Burns walked to open the inning, Santos reached on a fielder's choice and Burns was cut down at second. Manton's bunt single put runners on first and second, while Tim Keene (Berlin, N.H.) delivered the big blow with a two-RBI triple. Wallace's sacrifice fly then brought in Keene to put the River Hawks up 3-0. Taylon von Kriegenburgh (Stoneham, Mass.) then doubled in Peter Onorato (Clarence Center, N.Y.), who had singled a batter earlier. Graeme Clohosey (Derry, N.H.) then reached base on error, as Kriegenburgh scored on the play.

The five-run inning was all UMass Lowell's starting pitcher Kyle Davis (Rochester, N.H.) needed, as he continued to hold the Hawks scoreless until the eighth inning. Successive singles from Eric Simm (Salem, N.H.) and Evan Kelleher (Haverhill, Mass.) put runners on first and second with no outs. Moreau grounded to short and what appeared to be a double play turned into an error, as Kelleher was cut down at second and Simm scored on the ensuing poor throw from the second basemen. Moreau moved up to second on the play. An Adam Hussey (Danvers, Mass.) groundout moved Moreau up a base to third, as Moreau then scored on a wild pitch during T.J. Murphy's (Reading, Mass.) at-bat.

The two runs was all the Hawks mustered though, as the River Hawks held on for the 5-2 victory.

Long picked up the loss for the Hawks dropping his record to 1-4 on the hill. He finished the night after 4.2 innings allowing six hits with five runs, four earned, and four walks to go along with four strikeouts. Kyle Lavin (Shelton, Conn.) made a quality relief appearance, allowing just one hit over 3.1 innings, picking up one strikeout. 

Davis improved his record to 1-2 on the mound going eight innings, allowing just three hits, three runs, two earned, with two walks and nine strikeouts. Mark Sakelakos (Peabody, Mass.) came in to pick up his first save of the season in the ninth, allowing one hit with one walk and a strikeout.

The Hawks are back in action on Thursday, traveling to Pace for a doubleheader at 3:30 p.m.