Bryant finishes 2011 in style, sweeps FDU

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - For the second time this season the Bryant University baseball team swept a Northeast Conference series, as the Bulldogs wrapped up a four-game stand and capped a solid 2011 campaign with a 8-2 win over Fairleigh Dickinson Sunday afternoon in Teaneck, N.J.

With the W, the Bulldogs (30-23, 19-12 NEC) secured the No. 4 spot in the NEC regular standings, picking up 19 wins in the team's third go around at the Division I level. Bryant has now amassed 50 wins against league opponents since the 2009 season, as the club has won at least 30 games in a season for the past five years.

Starting pitcher Brian O'Neil (North Reading, Mass.) put forth a solid showing for the visitors, tossing seven innings while allowing just two runs. O'Neil received plenty y of run support, as the lineup continued to find green grass, outhitting the Knights (12-38, 9-23), 13-4.

The Bulldogs jumped out on top of the hosts, 4-0 in the top of the first, as Connor Carignan (Norwich, Conn.) delivered a lead-off single to centerfield. Two batters later, Jamie Skagerlind (Holden, Mass.) chipped in with a sacrifice fly. With David Soltis (Plainville, Conn.) and Jordan English (Windsor Locks, Conn.) on board, Mike DelPonte (Tewksbury, Mass.) belted a three-run long ball down the right field line to put the visitors up 4-0.

On the hill, O'Neil (4-3) surrendered a run in the bottom of the second, but would retire the side in order in the third and fourth. Soltis would connect on a one-out double to left field, one of his three hits on the day, allowing English to bring him home on a single down the line for the 5-1 Bryant advantage.

The visitors would break it open once again in the series with a three-run sixth inning. Colin Dougherty (Lowell, Mass.) started the two-out rally with a double down the left field line. Carignan would reach on a fielding error and push Dougherty over t third, right before Kevin Brown (Northborough, Mass.) went yard for the three-run bomb and the 8-1 edge.

The Knights would respond in the bottom half of the seventh with a run off of a RBI single by Matt Sherba, but that is as close the they would get, with Matt Griswold (Berlin, Conn.) and Mark Andrews (Hillsborough, N.J.) turning out the lights in the ninth for the 8-2 victory.

Brown and DelPonte combined for six RBIs, while Soltis and English finished the day 6-for-10 at the dish.

In total, Bryant finished the series with a .370 team batting average, including seven home runs and 19 extra-base knocks.

The Bulldogs outhit FDU, 50-21, while the pitching staff allowed just nine runs in the four-game stretch. With the sweep, Bryant finishes the year with a winning record on the road (17-16) and on a four-game win streak.

The Black and Gold, ineligible to compete for the NEC playoffs during the reclassification period, have now finished in playoff contention for two-straight seasons.

Fans, be sure to check back at www.bryantbulldogs.com for postseason accolades and a 2011 roundup.