Bulldogs look to defend title this weekend at Dodd Stadium

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University baseball team will look to defend its Northeast Conference championship this week as it heads to Dodd Stadium in Norwich, Conn., for the NEC tournament.

The top-seeded Bulldogs will face fourth-seeded Wagner on Thursday, May 22 at 12:00 p.m. to open the tournament. Second-seeded Central Connecticut and third-seeded Sacred Heart will play at 3:30 p.m. The tournament continues with two games apiece on Friday and Saturday and an "if necessary" game on Sunday.

Last season, Bryant fell on the opening day of the tournament to fourth-seeded LIU Brooklyn but rebounded to win the next four games and its first NEC tournament title. CCSU has the most tournament titles of the group with four. Sacred Heart has won three ('06, '11-'12) and Wagner has one (2000).

The Bulldogs will look to avoid an opening round loss this season as they face a familiar foe in Wagner. The Black and Gold and Seahawks wrapped up the regular season with a four-game series last weekend in which both teams won a pair of games. Bryant swept a doubleheader on Thursday with 16-0 and 4-0 victories, but Wagner responded with 1-0 and 6-4 decisions to close out the weekend and keep their playoff hopes alive. Those playoff hopes were rewarded on Sunday as Fairleigh Dickinson swept Mount St. Mary's in a doubleheader, sending the Seahawks into the postseason for the first time since 2010.

In 20 all-time meetings, the Bulldogs are 15-5 against the Seahawks. Of the 20 games, 19 have been decided by four runs or less and nine have been decided by a single run.

Bryant enters the tournament as the best offensive team and the best pitching team in the league. The Bulldogs' .310 average is sixth in the country and their 3.09 ERA is nearly a half run better than the next team. Bryant's lineup features nine regulars that hit over .314 and 12 players that have scored 15 runs or more. Sophomore Buck McCarthy (Saugus, Mass.) leads the team with a .355 average, freshman Matt Albanese (East Haddam, Conn.) is hitting .342 with 16 doubles, four triples, two home runs, 36 RBI and 51 runs scored and junior Carl Anderson (Sudbury, Mass.) is hitting .327 with seven home runs, 39 RBI and 28 stolen bases.

On the mound, the trio of Kevin McAvoy (Syracuse, N.Y.), Craig Schlitter (Guilford, Conn.) and Vaughn Hayward (Glendale, R.I.) have been dominant for the Black and Gold. They are a combined 26-4 with a 2.57 ERA and 188 strikeouts. McAvoy is 8-1 with a 2.89 ERA and a league-leading 81 strikeouts, Schlitter is 9-1 with a 2.17 ERA and Hayward is 9-2 with a 2.64 ERA.

The entire NEC tournament will be broadcasted free of charge on NECFrontRow.