No. 16/24 Bulldogs visit UMass Lowell tonight at 7pm

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The No. 16/24 Bryant University baseball team begins its final regular-season road trip this evening as it heads to Lowell, Mass., for a non-conference meeting with former NE-10 rival UMass Lowell. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. from LeLacheur Park.

The Bulldogs (39-10), the top-ranked team in New England for the ninth-straight week, head north on Tuesday night in search of their third 40-win season in the last four years. Bryant won a program-record 45 games in 2013 and followed it up with 42 more wins in 2014. The Bulldogs became the first team in Northeast Conference history to post back-to-back 40 win seasons.

Bryant and UML (18-30) will be meeting for the third-straight year and the 43rd time in program history. The River Hawks own a 28-14 lead in the all-time series but the Black and Gold have won each of the last six games including a pair of one-run victories in 2014 (5-4) and 2015 (7-6).

The Black and Gold are currently enjoying one of the best seasons of any team in the country. They have the fourth-most wins in the country, the third-best road record (19-6) and the fourth-best winning percentage (.796). Bryant also ranks 13th in runs per game (7.8), 14th in runs allowed per game (3.7) and second nationally in scoring differential (+4.1).

Led by senior Robby Rinn (Warwick, R.I.), the Bulldogs are hitting .318 as a team. Rinn is batting.378 with a career-high 74 hits and also has 20 doubles, four triples, five home runs, 52 RBI and 46 runs scored on the year. He is the first player in program history with 20+ doubles in two seasons, let alone back-to-back years.

Four other members of Bryant's starting lineup are also hitting over .330; Nick Angelini (Bedford, N.H.), Zach Wood (Griswold, Conn.), AJ Zarozny (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and Dan Cellucci (Sudbury, Mass.). Angelini is hitting .339 with 21 RBI, Wood is batting .336 with five home runs and 39 runs scored, Zarozny is at .333 with 11 doubles and 24 RBI and Cellucci is hitting .331 with 27 RBI. Zarozny has been a force since returning against LIU Brooklyn, going 11-for-22 with five doubles, a home run and 13 RBI in seven games.

Redshirt-junior Garrison Banas (Hadley, Mass.) will make his third start of the season tonight for the Bulldogs. He is 2-0 with a 2.75 ERA, 18 strikeouts and 10 walks in 19 2/3 innings. Banas tossed four scoreless innings in his last start against Brown on April 26. Over his last five outings, Banas has thrown 10 scoreless innings, allowing seven hits, five walks and posting 12 strikeouts.

UMass Lowell is playing its third season of a transition to the Division I ranks. They began the process in 2014 and will be fully eligible for the 2018 season. Bryant completed the same process from 2009-12. The River Hawks were swept this past weekend by Hartford, allowing 54 runs in the three games. They are hitting just .232 as a team and have posted a respectable 4.60 team ERA.

Joe Consolmagno leads the team with a .281 average and also has five doubles, six triples, two home runs, 22 RBI and 29 runs scored. Steve Passatempo leads the team with 10 home runs and 42 RBI, while Ian Strom has stolen a team-high 22 bases.

Freshman lefty Cam Lanzilli will make his first-career start tonight for the River Hawks. He is 1-1 with a 5.65 ERA in 14 1/3 innings. Lanzilli has walked nine and struck out nine. He had his ERA down to 2.19 on April 24 but has allowed six runs on seven hits over his last two innings.

Tuesday's game will be broadcast live on AmericEast.tv.