Baseball hosts Northeastern Tuesday

BULLDOGS CLOSE NON-CONFERENCE PLAY AGAINST HUSKIES

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University baseball team wraps up its non-conference schedule as it hosts Northeastern on Tuesday, April 30 at Conaty Park. First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m.

The Bulldogs (28-14-1) are coming off a series victory over LIU Brooklyn last weekend, while the Huskies (24-17) claimed the Beanpot title on Monday at Fenway Park.

Bryant leads the all-time series between the two schools 4-3, winning last year's game in Boston, 13-5. Tuesday's game at Conaty Park will be just the third time the teams have met in Smithfield. It was also be a homecoming for two of the Huskies' coaches as pitching Kevin Cobb and volunteer assistant Jeff Vigurs are both Bryant graduates. Cobb, a 2009 graduate, posted a 19-3 career mark as a pitcher and then coached two years for the Bulldogs, helping the 2010 squad claim the Northeast Conference regular-season title. Vigurs, a 2010 graduate, was also part of that team and was one of the greatest players in program history, leaving as the all-time doubles leader and sitting second in hits and RBI. He was drafted in the 22^nd round by the Chicago Cubs following his senior season.

Northeastern comes into Tuesday's game having won five of their last nine games. On the season, 12 of the Huskies' 17 losses have come by three runs or less. They are hitting .264 as a team and are led by Rob Fonseca and Aaron Barbosa. Fonseca is hitting a team-leading .308 with 10 doubles, two home runs and 24 RBI. Barbosa is hitting .303 with four doubles, four triples, 34 runs scored and 22 stolen bases. Jason Vosler leads the team with 30 RBI. On the mound, the Bulldogs will face freshman right-hander Nick Cubarney. He's 3-3 with a 3.71 ERA in six appearances, five starts, this season.

The Bulldogs hit a bit of a speed bump last week, dropping four-of-five, but regrouped over the weekend with a series victory over LIU Brooklyn. Bryant's pitching staff allowed just three earned runs on the weekend, lowering its league-leading ERA to 2.87, good for 20^th in the country. Senior Joseph Michaud (Milford, Conn.) will look to keep the streak going as he makes his eighth start of the year. He is 4-3 with a 2.93 ERA in 46 innings. Michaud suffered his first loss in over a month last Wednesday against Connecticut.

Offensively, the Bulldogs are coming off their highest run total of the season on Sunday against the Blackbirds. Bryant scored 10 runs in the opener last Friday and then 14 more on Sunday to complete the series victory. Senior Kevin Brown (Northborough, Mass.) is hitting .392 and now leads the country with a .526 on-base percentage. Sophomore Carl Anderson (Sudbury, Mass.) continued his stellar season with seven hits over the weekend and now has driven in 30 runs and scored 31 times.

First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday and the game will be available on necfrontrow.com.