No. 16/24 Bulldogs finish regular season 44-10 after 19-1 win over Mount

EMMITSBURG, Md. – Senior James Davitt (Wallingford, Conn.) allowed just one hit over five scoreless innings and the No. 16/24 Bryant University baseball team scored in each of the first six innings on its way to a 19-1 victory and a doubleheader and weekend sweep of Mount St. Mary's on Friday afternoon at E.T. Straw Family Stadium.

With the win, the Bulldogs (44-10, 26-4 NEC) put the finishing touches on the most impressive regular season in not just program history, but in Northeast Conference history. The 44 wins are one shy of a program record and they have the second-most wins in the country. It was the Bulldogs' 26th-straight win against the Mountaineers (11-37, 8-24) and they outscored them 45-2 in four games.

Bryant also finishes the regular season not having lost back-to-back games, the only team in the country to accomplish that feat. With Friday's doubleheader sweep, Bryant is now 24-6 on the road this season, the most road wins of any team in the country. Including neutral site games, the Bulldogs are now 29-7 away from Smithfield this year.

In game two Friday, Davitt was the story for the first five innings and didn't allow a baserunner or a hit until the fifth inning. He retired the first 13 batters he faced before issuing a walk and allowing a hit in the fifth inning. Davitt came back to get a fielder's choice ground out and a foul pop to end the inning. He allowed just one hit, walked one and struck out five to improve his record to 7-2 on the year.

Redshirt-junior Oliver Powers (Newtown, Conn.), senior Michael Marshall (Maynard, Mass.) and sophomore Logan Lessard (Cromwell, Conn.) combined to throw the final four innings for the Black and Gold. Powers allowed one run over two innings, Marshall pitched a perfect eighth and Lessard pitched a perfect ninth to finish the game. 

Offensively, Bryant stayed hot on a hot and hazy Saturday afternoon, scoring runs in each of the first six innings. The Bulldogs collected 12 hits and had four players finish with multiple hits. Freshman Nick Angelini (Bedford, N.H.) finished 3-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored, senior AJ Zarozny (Shrewsbury, Mass.) was 2-for-4 with three RBI, junior Cole Fabio (Mahwah, N.J.) was 2-for-3 with a run scored and sophomore Mickey Gasper (Merrimack, N.H.) was 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Senior Robby Rinn (Warwick, R.I.) had just one hit but it was historic as he clubbed his 24th double of the season with two outs in the fifth to tie the single-season program record.

In the first, Angelini singled to right-center and eventually scored on a two-out single from senior Buck McCarthy (Saugus, Mass.).

The Bulldogs then used their second big-inning of the afternoon to break the game open in the second. They scored six runs on just three hits to make it 7-0. Junior Brandon Bingel (Peabody, Mass.) and senior Zach Wood (Griswold, Conn.) both walked and junior Cole Fabio (Mahwah, N.J.) singled to load the bases. Angelini and senior AJ Zarozny (Shrewsbury, Mass.) then ripped back-to-back two-run doubles to left and right center to make it 5-0. Bryant's final two runs of the inning scored on wild pitches.

Bryant then added runs in the next four innings. Angelini singled and came around to score on a Zarozny single in the third, Gasper scored on a double-play ball in the fourth and junior Joe Paparelli (Preston, Conn.) trotted home on a wild pitch in the fifth.

In the sixth, Bingel hit his eighth home run of the season, a solo shot to left, to make it 11-0. The eight home runs are a new career high. Two more runs would score as Paparelli was walked with the bases loaded and junior Zane Smith (Ilion, N.Y.) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

The Black and Gold added two more runs in the eighth and Smith capped the scoring with a grand slam in the ninth. Smith's grand slam was the first of his career and the first for the Bulldogs since Tom Gavitt hit one on Apr. 19, 2014 at LIU Brooklyn. Smith finished the game with a career-high five RBI.

The Bulldogs will now turn their focus to the NEC Tournament that begins next Thursday, May 26 at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, Conn. Bryant will be the No. 1 seed in the tournament and will face either Central Connecticut or LIU Brooklyn.