Baseball hosts reigning NEC champs

BULLDOGS HOST SACRED HEART FOR FOUR GAMES THIS WEEKEND

BASEBALL WEEKLY

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Sitting in first place in the Northeast Conference, the Bryant University baseball team welcomes reigning NEC champion Sacred Heart to Conaty Park for a four-game weekend series beginning on Friday, April 13 at 3:00 p.m.

The Bulldogs (17-14, 10-2 NEC) had their five-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday against Rhode Island but have swept two of their first three conference weekends and currently lead Monmouth by a game for first place. The Pioneers (10-20, 7-5 NEC) have gone the other way after winning their first two conference games, dropping three-of-four against Fairleigh Dickinson two weekends ago.

This will be the third meeting between the two teams since the Black and Gold joined the NEC in 2010. The Bulldogs currently hold a 5-3 advantage in the all-time series. Last season, the two teams split four games in Bridgeport, Conn. Junior Peter Kelich (Jackson, N.J.) tossed a complete game shutout and sophomore Craig Schlitter (Guilford, Conn.) limited the Pioneers to just two runs over seven innings in the two Bryant wins. Two years ago, the Bulldogs wrapped up the NEC regular season championship by taking three-of-four from the Pioneers on the last weekend of the season.

Sacred Heart has struggled to find consistency this season, dropping 10 of its first 11 and four-straight heading into the series opener. The Pioneers haven't won consecutive games since a five-game win streak at the end of March. John Murphy leads the team in most offensive categories, including average (.338), runs (22), triples (2), walks (14), OBP (.443) and stolen bases (12). Dan Perez is hitting .323 and leads the team with six doubles and 17 RBI.

Expected to be one of the Pioneers' strong points this season, the pitching staff has struggled, posting a league-high 6.79 ERA. The Bulldogs will see the quartet of Nick Leiningen, Troy Scribner, Robbie Maguire and Kody Kerski. Leiningen, last year's NEC Rookie of the Year, is 2-3 with a 7.36 ERA, Scribner is 2-4 with a 5.09 ERA, Maguire is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA and Kerski is 1-4 with a 7.15 ERA. In last year's conference tournament, Scribner, Leiningen and Kerski all threw complete games to propel the Pioneers to the title.

Bryant enters the weekend looking to rebound from a non-conference loss to URI on Wednesday. The Bulldogs fell behind 8-0 after three innings and were never able to recover, leaving 12 men on base and making four errors. Despite the loss, the Bulldogs have still won five-straight conference games and have posted a league-best 2.32 ERA. Kelich, Friday's starter, has won both of his starts against SHU over the past two seasons. In fact, he has tossed seven shutout innings in both appearances. Schlitter is the reigning pitcher of the week in the conference after shutting out Central Connecticut on one hit last weekend. Sophomore Joseph Michaud (Milford, Conn.) will start game two on Saturday and freshman Kevin McAvoy (Syracuse, N.Y.) will start on Sunday. In three conference starts, McAvoy has allowed just three runs over 20.1 innings.

Offensively, Bryant has posted a .282 average in league games led by freshman John Mullen's (Walpole, Mass.) .361 average. The rookie also leads the team with five doubles in league contests and has hit safely in each of his last seven games overall. Junior Kevin Brown (Northborough, Mass.) leads the team with six home runs, 15 RBI and 10 runs scored. Last season against the Pioneers, Brown was 8-for-17 with four doubles and four runs scored.

The Bulldogs and Pioneers will continue their four-game series with two seven-inning games on Saturday and a single nine-inning game on Sunday. First pitch for both days is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.