Two of New England's top team meet Wed. in Hartford

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Ranked the top team in New England by the NEIBA for the first time this season, the Bryant University baseball team will face fourth-ranked Hartford on Wednesday afternoon at Fiondella Field. First pitch is scheduled for 3:50 p.m.

Having won their last four games and 11 of their last 13 overall, the Bulldogs (14-8) received 10 of the 11 first-place votes and 54 total points to top the poll for the first time this year. Connecticut received the other first-place vote to finish second, while Northeastern, Hartford and Sacred Heart round out the poll.

On Wednesday, the Bulldogs and Hawks (12-9) will be meeting for the third time at the Division I level. Bryant won both of the previous meetings, defeating Hartford, 14-1 and 7-4, on consecutive days in 2010. Scheduled to play in 2015, the Bulldogs and Hawks added this game to the schedule in order to fill the void made by cancelled games earlier this season.

Bryant is currently playing some of its best baseball of the season over the last 13 games, hitting .311 and averaging 7.5 runs per game. The Bulldogs are pitching to a 2.89 ERA and have posted five shutouts over that span, including a 6-0 blanking of Albany on Saturday. Bryant has also reached double digits in runs eight time this season and five times in the last nine games.

Junior Carl Anderson (Sudbury, Mass.), the Northeast Conference Player of the Week, enjoyed an outstanding four-game stretch last week in which he hit .706 (12-for-17) with four doubles, nine RBI and four runs scored. The third-year Bulldog hit safely in each of his last 10 at-bats and is now hitting .354 with team-highs in hits (34), RBI (19) and stolen bases (11). In all, the Bulldogs currently feature seven regulars hitting over .300 led by senior Tom Gavitt's (North Stonington, Conn.) .378 average and .756 slugging percentage.

Senior Vaughn Hayward (Glendale, R.I.) is schedule to get the start against the Hawks on Wednesday. The hard-throwing righty has won his last three decisions and has posted a 2.25 ERA in 24 innings on the year.

Hartford is hitting just .236 as a team and is led by Ryan Lukach's .316 average. Lukach also has 11 RBI and 13 runs scored on the season. Four other regulars have over 10 RBI on the season, and Aaron Wilson leads the team with six stolen bases.

The Hawks have posted a 2.31 team ERA and the Bulldogs will most likely see Brian Murphy or Brian Stepniak. Murphy is 1-0 with 1.76 ERA and Stepniak is 0-0 with a 4.50 ERA.

Following Wednesday, the Bulldogs will compete in the Dodd Stadium College Baseball Classic hosted by the Connecticut Tigers in Norwich, Conn.