UMass Lowell Baseball Takes Series Opener Against Binghamton

VESTAL, N.Y. – UMass Lowell (8-9, 1-0 America East) scored the game’s final five runs, including two in the 10th inning, to overtake Binghamton baseball (6-11, 1-3 AE) 7-5 in the series opener Friday afternoon at the Bearcats Baseball Complex.

River Hawks Rally for Victory

Binghamton led 5-2 after six innings but couldn’t hold off the River Hawks, who outhit the Bearcats 10-6 and rallied with runs in four of the final five innings.

Griffin’s Strong Outing Not Enough

The loss spoiled a strong outing from junior starter Conner Griffin, who struck out seven in 6.0 innings. Griffin scattered five hits and two runs and departed with a 5-2 lead.

Bearcats’ Early Lead

The Bearcats packed their scoring into two innings, with three runs in the fourth and two in the sixth. Junior DH Zach Anderson went 2-for-4 with a 2-run home run and three RBI.

Fourth Inning Surge

In the fourth, the Bearcats jumped ahead with three runs on two hits. Senior second baseman Zack Kent led off with a walk and went to second on a wild pitch. Sophomore center fielder Matt Bolton followed with an infield single, and classmate Steven Kraus plated Kent with a sacrifice fly to left for a 1-0 lead. Two batters later, Anderson took an 0-2 pitch well over the wall in left field for a 3-0 lead. It was Anderson’s second home run of the spring.

Sixth Inning Extension

After UMass Lowell scored twice in the sixth to craft it 3-2, the Bearcats answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning to restore their three-run margin. Kraus singled with one out, and sophomore catcher Tommy Popoff drew a 13-pitch walk. Anderson came through with an RBI single inside the third base bag for a 4-2 lead. Sophomore left fielder Grant Hunter then dropped down a perfect squeeze bunt to score Popoff with the team’s fifth and final run.

River Hawks Comeback

But the River Hawks scored once in the seventh and twice in the eighth to tie it at 5-5. UMass Lowell then set the leadoff hitter on in the 10th and wound up scoring twice for the win.

Next Game

The teams are scheduled to play a single game at 2 p.m. Saturday, with the possibility of altering that to a doubleheader as the weekend forecast comes further into focus.