Bryant baseball opens 2016 season Friday in Cary, N.C.

FULL GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University baseball team begins its 2016 season on Friday when it travels to Cary, N.C., to begin a four-game weekend against Army, Monmouth and Penn State in the Penn State Baseball Tournament at the USA Baseball Complex.

First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on opening day as the Bulldogs and Black Knights will meet for the first time in program history. Bryant will then face former Northeast Conference foe Monmouth in a doubleheader beginning at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday before closing the weekend against tournament host Penn State at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday.

This weekend will mark the second time in five years that the Black and Gold have opened the season in Cary. They started the 2012 season with three games at the USA Baseball Complex, going 2-1 against St. Joseph's, Wright St. and Marshall. Coincidentally, it is Bryant's best opening weekend performance at the Division I level.

Bryant is hoping to match the feat this weekend and shake off any remnants of an up-and-down 2015 season that ended in heartbreak in the Northeast Conference title game. The Bulldogs finished last season with a 29-25 record, failing to win 30 games for the first time since the 2006 season, a span of eight years. The Bulldogs, however, return eight position starters and 10 pitchers that are poised to get the program back on track.

The Black and Gold open the season against first-time opponent Army on Friday. The Black Knights posted a 21-26 overall record and a 6-14 record in the Patriot League last year. Army has appeared in the NCAA Tournament in two of the last four years and senior catcher Ben Smith to get them there. Smith hit .310 last season with 13 doubles, 23 RBI and 27 runs scored. On the mound, the Bulldogs will see Jeremy Mortensen, a veteran left-hander that went 2-5 with a 4.58 ERA in 57 innings last spring.

Bryant will then renew its rivalry with former NEC foe Monmouth on Saturday. The Bulldogs and Hawks last met in the 2013 NEC Tournament, an 11-1 Bulldog victory. The two teams split their first 16 meetings but Bryant enters the weekend with a 12-9 lead in the all-time series. Monmouth will be led by Shaine Hughes (.289, 12 2Bs, 34 RBI) and Chris Gaetano (3 HR, 24 RBI) on offense, while lefty Anthony Ciavarella (3-5, 4.48 ERA, 66 1/3 IP) returns as one of the top prospects in the MAAC. The Bulldogs will see Ciavarella in game one on Saturday and 6-8 righty Ricky Dennis in game two.

On Sunday, the Black and Gold will face Penn St. for the first time in program history. The Nittany Lions went 18-30 overall and 6-16 in the Big Ten last season and return key offensive pieces in Jim Haley (.301, 11 2B, 4 3B, 35 R) and Greg Guers (13 2B, 8 HR, 38 RBI). Penn St. is scheduled to start Nick Hedge on Sunday, a lefty that went 3-7 with a 5.28 ERA and 42 strikeouts in a team-high 75 innings a year ago. The Nittany Lions also feature closer Jack Anderson who was recently named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year watch list.

For Bryant, veterans dot both the infield and outfield as the 2016 season begins. Senior catcher Buck McCarthy (Saugus, Mass.) returns for his third season behind the plate after hitting a career-high six home runs last season and classmate Robby Rinn (Warwick, R.I.) is back at first four his fourth-straight year as a starter. Rinn had 21 doubles, seven home runs, 43 RBI and 44 runs scored and was named First Team All-NEC for the second-straight year in 2015. Juniors Cole Fabio (Mahwah, N.J.) and Matt Albanese (East Haddam, Conn.) are fresh off summers in the Cape Cod League and have gained considerable interest from scouts. Fabio hit .347 with a league-leading 69 hits, while Albanese had 11 doubles, three triples and five home runs in just 36 games.

The Bulldogs' rotation of the week will feature sophomore James Karinchak (Walden, N.Y.) on Friday, senior James Davitt (Wallingford, Conn.) and freshman Steve Theetge (Cicero, N.Y.) on Saturday and junior Brandon Bingel (Peabody, Mass.) on Sunday. Karinchak was the NEC Rookie of the Year last season after going 8-5 with a 3.24 ERA and 74 strikeouts, while Davitt is transitioning into a starting role after leading the team in appearances last spring. Theetge will be making his first-career start in game two on Saturday, while Bingel will look to build upon on a breakout sophomore campaign in which he went 5-2 with a team-leading 3.23 ERA.

Friday's first pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. and fans will be able to follow all four games through live stats.