NEC rivals meet this weekend at Conaty as Bryant hosts Sacred Heart

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University baseball team welcomes Sacred Heart to Conaty Park this weekend in a matchup of the last three Northeast Conference champions. It all begins Friday with a first pitch scheduled for 3:00 p.m.

In what has become one of the best rivalries in the conference, the Bulldogs (30-7, 13-1 NEC) and Pioneers (21-16, 12-3) are the top two teams in the league standings and have combined to win the last five conference championships.

Bryant owns an 18-11 lead in the all-time series but Sacred Heart's 11th win was a big one as the Pioneers rallied from a run down in the ninth to stun the Black and Gold in last year's NEC title game. The Bulldogs are 14-10 against the Pioneers during the regular season and have won four of the five postseason meetings. Sacred Heart has played in each of the last seven NEC title games, winning three of them.

The Bulldogs are one of the hottest teams in the country and currently have the nation's longest winning streak at 10 games. It is the first time the Bulldogs have won 10-straight games since the 2014 season, a streak that was ended by the Pioneers. During the stretch, Bryant has hit .375 and averaged 10.5 runs and over 12 hits per game, raising its team average to .312, a number that ranks them 18th nationally. The Bulldogs also rank 14th in on-base percentage (.409) and 27th in slugging percentage (.465).

Senior Zach Wood (Griswold, Conn.) had a career day on Wednesday, collecting five hits and five RBI to pace the Bulldogs. Wood has driven in eight runs in Bryant's last two games and is now hitting .314 with 21 RBI on the year. He's also one of four Bulldogs hitting over .400 during the 10-game winning streak. Freshman Nick Angelini (Bedford, N.H.) is hitting .500 (17-34) with a .617 OBP, Wood is batting .452 with a .585 OBP, senior Dan Cellucci (Sudbury, Mass.) is hitting .438 (14-32) and junior Matt Albanese (East Haddam, Conn.) is hitting .432 (16-37) with 17 RBI. Albanese currently leads the NEC in RBI (45) and runs scored (45) and has the chance to become the first player in DI program history to record 50+ RBI and 50+ runs scored in a single season.

Sophomore James Karinchak (Walden, N.Y.) gets the ball on Friday and is currently tied for the national lead in victories with eight. He has a 1.89 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 57 innings. Last season, Karinchak tossed a complete-game, five-hit shutout against the Pioneers. Double-play specialists senior James Davitt (Wallingford, Conn.) and freshman Steve Theetge (Cicero, N.Y.) will pitch Saturday, while junior Brandon Bingel (Peabody, Mass.) gets the ball Sunday. Davitt and Theetge have combine to induce 13 double plays this season and the Bulldogs have turned 15 as a team during their 10-game winning streak.

The Pioneers come into the weekend 1.5 games behind the Bulldogs in the NEC standings. They are hitting .266 as a team and have posted a 4.07 ERA along with a league-best eight shutouts. Victor Sorrento leads the way with a .333 average, 11 doubles, four triples, three home runs, 31 RBI and 21 runs scored. Jayson Sullivan is also hitting over .300 (.311) and has stolen 10 bases. Middle Infielders Zack Short and Ted Shaw have been sparkplugs and are the top two on the team in runs scored (30, 29) and stolen bases (14, 13).

Sacred Heart has pitched the ball very well this year and will roll out Jason Foley, James Taubl, Jesus Medina and John Sostarich this weekend. Foley leads the team in strikeouts and Taubl leads the league with a 1.43 ERA and has not allowed an earned run in 32 innings. Graduate student James Cooksey is the star of the staff but has posted a 5.23 ERA and just 20 strikeouts in 51 2/3 innings. He is 4-2 with two saves and has moved back into the bullpen the last two weekends.