River Hawks Knock Off Delaware, 5-3, at Bob Hannah Invite

NEWARK, Del. – Chris Sharpe (Burlington, Mass.) sparked a three-run seventh inning with a two RBI double to knot the score at 3-3, as the UMass Lowell (4-3) baseball team knocked off the Delaware Blue Hens (5-4), 5-3, on the final day of the Bob Hannah Invitational.

With the River Hawks trailing 3-1 in the seventh, Delaware elected to intentionally walk Steve Passatempo (Medford, Mass.) and bring up Sharpe with two on and two out. After a wild pitch advanced Passatempo and Joe Consolmagno (Worcester, Mass.) to second and third, the left fielder delivered a sent a double down the left field line.

"It was a good complete effort from everybody," said Head Coach Ken Harring. "We pitched well, hit when we needed to in the end and played really good defense. A couple of keys were Passtempo's home run and Brendan Shea's five strikeouts, which really set a good tempo. We kept on grinding and
the big hit from Sharpe with Ian Strom's play in the outfield kept us going. For Brendan Long to come in and gett the save on seven pitches really capped off the complete effort for the boys today."

Brice Erickson (Leominster, Mass.) gave UMass Lowell the lead for the first time with a pinch-hit double to left of his own, bringing home Sharpe for the 4-3 buffer. Andy Savard (Tyngsboro, Mass.) added an insurance run in the ninth with a RBI single that plated Sharpe.

The Blue Hens took a 3-0 lead heading into the sixth inning behind solo runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings.

The River Hawks began to take over the momentum in the sixth when Steve Passatempo (Medford, Mass.) hit his second solo home run in as many games, cutting the deficit to 3-1.

Delaware threatened in the eighth but the UMass Lowell defense made back-to-back plays to maintain the lead heading into the ninth. With no outs and a runner on first, Ian Strom (Hopedale, Mass.) made an over the shoulder leaping catch in center and doubled off the runner at first. The next batter hit one of the left field wall, but Sharpe started a perfect relay to nab the runner at second.

Brendan Shea (Belmont, Mass.) picked up his first win of the year with three innings of shutout ball in relief of Nick Kuzia (Seymour, Conn.). Shea recorded five strikeouts and gave way to Brendan Long (Naples, Fla.) in the ninth to earn his second save in a UMass Lowell uniform.

The River Hawks head to California from March 11-16 and play five games against Santa Clara and San Francisco.