Baseball third in NE, host Siena Tues.

BULLDOGS THIRD IN NEIBA POLL, HOST SIENA TUESDAY

Baseball Weekly

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Ranked third in the most recent New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association coaches poll, the Bryant University baseball team finishes the non-conference portion of its schedule with a Tuesday (May 1) afternoon date with Siena at Conaty Park.

The Bulldogs' (28-17) most recent ranking in the NEIBA poll marks the third-straight week they have moved up a spot in the rankings. Bryant received 17 points this week to tie Holy Cross for the third spot. Rhode Island received six first-place votes to retain the top spot and Connecticut received two first-place votes to rank second.

Tuesday's matchup with the Saints (16-29) will be the second meeting between the two programs. Siena needed 10 innings to defeat the Black and Gold, 4-3, last year and enter the mid-week matchup coming off a big three-game sweep of MAAC foe Niagara over the weekend. That sweep kept the Saints alive for a possible berth in the MAAC postseason tournament in three weeks. Mike Fish earned player of the week honors for his performance last week and is making the most of his playing time. He's hitting .364 with five doubles, two home runs and 10 RBI in just 21 games. John Rooney leads the Saints with a .313 average, 25 RBI and nine stolen bases.

Bryant had a season-high seven-game winning streak snapped on Saturday against Fairleigh Dickinson but was able to regroup to earn a series split on Sunday. The Bulldogs will hope to use Tuesday's affair with the Saints to build momentum for a pivotal Northeast Conference series with Monmouth this weekend in West Long Branch, N.J.

Last week, the Bulldogs were happy to see senior Mike DelPonte (Tewksbury, Mass.) come alive. Mired in a two-week long slump, DelPonte picked up a hit in all five games last week, including a two-homer, five-RBI performance against FDU on Friday. DelPonte now leads the Bulldogs and ranks third in the conference with 33 RBI. He's also fourth in the league with a team-high on-base percentage of .425.

On the mound, the Bulldogs will again turn to senior Brian O'Neil (North Reading, Mass.). The veteran right-hander has allowed just one run over his 10 2/3 innings and has won each of his last two starts despite not recording a strikeout.

Following Tuesday's game with Siena, Bryant will prepare for its biggest conference weekend of the season against Monmouth. The Bulldogs currently hold a one-game lead over the Hawks for first place in the NEC standings. The series gets underway on Friday with a 3:00 p.m. first pitch at the MU Baseball Field.