LOWELL, Mass. - Laurie Tanguay hit a grand slam in the opener and homered in the nightcap as UMass Lowell solidified its hold on the top spot in the Northeast-10 Conference with a doubleheader sweep of Le Moyne 5-2, 10-6. The Riverhawks (23-12, 13-1 Northeast-10) have won 13 of their first 14 league contests and eight straight, while Le Moyne (17-13, 9-5 Northeast-10) is swept for the second time in its last three conference doubleheaders.
UMass Lowell struck early in the opener. The Riverhawks loaded the bases with its first three batters who reached on a pair of errors and a dropped third strike. Tanguay cleared the bases with a grand slam that put the hosts up for good 4-0.
Senior outfielder Ashley Anderson (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) knocked in both Le Moyne runs with a two-run double in the sixth. Junior Kristen Mahoney scattered four hits and gave up two earned runs in six innings of work to earn the win. Junior Vikki Guido earned a save in one inning of relief. Sarah Reed (DeWitt, N.Y./Jamesville-DeWitt) suffered the loss for Le Moyne, giving up five hits and five runs (one earned) in six innings.
The Dolphins jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning of the nightcap when Reed hit a solo shot to right field. Freshman Cyrilla Suker answered in the bottom of the first with a single up the middle to bring home Brodie and tie the score 1-1. Le Moyne recaptured the one-run lead 2-1 in the top of the second with an RBI double to right-center field by Lindsay Spaziani (Horseheads, N.Y./Horseheads).
It remained a one-run game until Le Moyne exploded for a four-run fourth inning to extend its lead to 6-1. The Dolphins loaded the bases with one out and brought home the first run on an error. Jennifer Farrelly (Latham, N.Y./Shaker) and Anderson hit back-to-back singles with the bases loaded to bring home three additional runs. Le Moyne threatened to score more runs in the inning, but a strikeout by Suker and a groundout left the bases loaded to close the top of the inning.
UML began to chip away at the lead with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to come within three at 6-3. Suker hit a single to deep center field for two RBIs to score freshman Stacey Lajoie and Tanguay, who had reached base with back-to-back singles.
The River Hawks batted around in the sixth inning to overtake the Dolphins and claim the 10-6 win. Junior Jachael Guanci started the rally with a two-run homer to right field with one out. Guido singled and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Brodie. Lajoie doubled to center field to bring Guido home. Tanguay hit her second homer of the night, a two-run shot over the right field fence to put the River Hawks ahead 8-6. Suker worked the pitcher for a walk and advanced to second on a single by Colleen Varone. Junior Melissa Hanafin  brought Suker and Varone home for the 10-6 final.
Suker earned the win for UML, giving up 12 hits and six runs (five earned) while striking out eight. Caylinn Christophersen (Norwich, N.Y./Norwich) took the loss, giving up 12 hits and six runs (three earned) while striking out six. Farrelly pitched 2/3 of an inning, giving up three hits and four runs (three earned).
Le Moyne hosts American International in a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
(courtesy UMass Lowell Athletics)
