First place on the line as CCSU visits

FIRST PLACE IN THE NEC ON THE LINE AS BULLDOGS, BLUE DEVILS MEET FOR FOUR

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – With first place in the Northeast Conference standings on the line, the Bryant University baseball team welcomes Central Connecticut State University to Conaty Park for a four-game conference series beginning on Thursday, April 5 at 3:00 p.m.

The Bulldogs (13-13, 6-2 NEC) and the Blue Devils (15-10, 9-3 NEC) are currently tied for first-place in the league standings and have split their eight all-time meetings prior to this season. CCSU was picked to finish third in the preseason, while Bryant was slated fourth in annual prognostication.

Over the last two seasons, the two teams have swapped series victories on their home field. In 2010, the Bulldogs took three-of-four from the Blue Devils in Smithfield and CCSU returned the favor last year by taking three-of-four in New Britain, Conn. Bryant's series victory in 2010 was filled with walk-off dramatics as then-sophomore Jamie Skagerlind (Holden, Mass.) hit a pair of walk-off home runs in the series. He won the first game of the series with a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth and then ended the third game with a home run in the bottom of the seventh. Bryant's other victory in the series was also a walk-off as David Soltis (Plainville, Conn.) capped a five-run, ninth-inning rally with a game-winning two-run single.

Last season, the Blue Devils won in equally dramatic fashion as they overcame deficits to win each of the first three games of the series. CCSU scored six runs in the seventh to erase a 9-4 deficit in game one, broke a 2-2 tie with eight sixth-inning runs in game two and scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to win game three.

This year, the Blue Devils are the hottest team in the NEC. They've won seven-straight league games and have won 14 of their last 19 overall since starting 1-5. CCSU has turned things around with timely hitting and a consistent presence on the mound. Last week they had 10 players hit over .300 and feature the reigning NEC Player of the Week (Tyler Mcintyre) and co-rookie of the week (Casey Brown). Mcintyre leads the team with four home runs and 15 RBI. TJ Sportman is the other catalyst, hitting .287 with six doubles, three home runs, 10 RBI and 19 runs scored.

On the mound, freshman twins Casey and Cody Brown have provided instant results for the Blue Devils. They are a combined 6-2 and have walked just 12 while striking out 36. Cody has earned NEC Rookie of the Week twice and Casey is the current holder of the honor. The Bulldogs will also see right-hander Harry Glynne and lefty Jack Greenhouse. Glynne will start Thursday's opener and is 1-1 with a 3.24 ERA on the year. Greenhouse will follow Cody Brown on Saturday and is 2-0 with a 3.33 ERA and a 22:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Bryant enters the big weekend series after splitting a pair of conference games with LIU Brooklyn last weekend. The Bulldogs won game one behind a dominant complete game shutout from junior Peter Kelich (Jackson, N.J.), and they salvaged a split with a 2-1, 11-inning victory on Sunday. In between, the Bulldogs were victimized by two big innings from the Blackbirds in a doubleheader sweep on Saturday.

Junior Kevin Brown (Northborough, Mass.) picked up four hits against LIU and has drawn even with junior Adam Claire (Litchfield, Conn.) in batting average at .288. He currently leads the conference with eight home runs and has scored team-high 23 runs. Skagerlind leads the team with eight doubles, while senior Mike DelPonte (Tewksbury, Mass.) leads the team with 20 RBI. As a team, the Bulldogs have hovered around the .250 mark and have reached double-digit hits just seven times this season.

The Bulldogs will send the same four pitchers to the mound this week against the Blue Devils, with Kelich starting things off on Thursday. Kelich has tossed complete games in each of his two conference starts and has allowed just two runs over 16 innings while striking out 18. Craig Schlitter (Guilford, Conn.) and Joseph Michaud (Milford, Conn.) will follow on Friday and Kevin McAvoy (Syracuse, N.Y.) rounds out the rotation on Saturday. McAvoy has been equally impressive in two conference starts, allowing just one run over 13 2/3 innings.

Following Thursday's opener, the teams will play two seven-inning games on Friday starting at 2:00 p.m. and a single nine-inning game on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Games on Thursday and Friday can be watched live online at bryantbulldogs.tv.