MERION STATION, Pa. – Freshman Will McCausland dazzled on the mound on Friday, striking out 11 as the Saint Joseph's baseball team held on for a 4-3 win over UMass Lowell at Smithson Field.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• UMass Lowell (2-10) got on the board in the top of the second inning on a two-out single by Conor Kelly.  A sacrifice fly by Fritz Genther in the top of the sixth doubled the lead.

• Saint Joseph's (2-6) went to work in the bottom of the sixth. With two on and two out, Nate Thomas ripped his first home run of the season over the fence in center field to put the Hawks on top, 3-2.  Ryan Weingartner followed with a double and came in to score on a single by Justin Igoe.

• The River Hawks got a leadoff home run by Jacob Humphrey to start the eighth, but Peter Gallo retired the final six hitters of the game – the last four via strikeout – to finish off the win.

BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• The win is the Hawks' second consecutive home opener victory.

• McCausland struck out 11 in six outstanding innings, scattering seven hits and allowing two runs while not walking a batter, to improve to 1-1 on the season.  LJ Keevan took the loss, falling to 0-4 after allowing four runs on three hits and three walks while fanning seven in five and two-thirds innings.  Gallo allowed a run on one hit and struck out six to earn his first save.

• McCausland is the first Hawk pitcher to reach double-digits in strikeouts in a single game since Jordan DiValerio struck out 10 in six innings at North Carolina Central on February 28, 2020.

• The game was played in a brisk one hour and 45 minutes, the fastest nine-inning game in the history of Smithson Field.

UP NEXT
The teams will continue the series on Saturday; first pitch is slated for 1:00 p.m.