Baseball hosts UConn Tuesday, visits Brown Wednesday

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University baseball team opens a five-game week with midweek contests against Connecticut Tuesday afternoon at Conaty Park and Brown Wednesday afternoon in Providence.    

The Particulars
Opponents: UConn (Tuesday) | Brown (Wednesday)
Location: Conaty Park (Smithfield, R.I.) | Murray Stadium (Providence, R.I.)
Date and Time: Apr. 9 – 3:00 p.m. | Apr. 10 – 3:30 p.m.
Watch: NECFrontRow (Tuesday)
Live Stats: Tuesday | Wednesday
Game Notes: Bryant
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | #TCD | #NECBASE

Pitching Probables
Tuesday – RHP John MacDonald (1-2, 3.38) vs. RHP Kenny Haus (2-1, 6.11)
Wednesday – TBA vs. TBA

Freshman John MacDonald (Stamford, Conn.) will make his second midweek start on Tuesday against the Huskies. He was brilliant in his first career start at URI last week, striking out six over six scoreless innings.

Series History

• UConn owns a 6-4-1 record in the all-time series between the two schools.
• The Bulldogs and Huskies played to a 9-9 tie last season in Storrs.
• Bryant and UConn are two of the winningest programs in the region and the country since the start of the 2011 season, coach Owens' first season at Bryant.
• Bryant owns an 11-6 record against Brown after sweeping a midweek home-and-home with the Bears two weeks ago.
• The Bulldogs outscored Brown 29-8 in the two games.

Bulldog Notes and Notables

• Bryant enters the week at 20-10 overall and has won each of its last five games.
• The Bulldogs went a perfect 4-0 last week, defeating URI on Wednesday before sweeping FDU in a Northeast Conference series.
• Bryant is now hitting .303 with 67 doubles and 40 home runs through the first 30 games. The Bulldogs rank 17th nationally in average, 17th in doubles per game, eighth in home runs per game (1.33) and 10th nationally in scoring (8.3).
• Every regular in Bryant's lineup has at least three doubles, while eight have five or more.
• Redshirt sophomore Jimmy Titus (Stafford, Conn.) is hitting .379 with seven doubles, seven home runs and a league-leading 40 RBI. He's one of just 19 players nationally with 40+ RBI this year and is just two RBI shy of tying his career-high from 2017.
• Junior Chris Wright (Cumberland, R.I.) is second on the team with 29 RBI and is one of six players with 20+ RBI on the year.
• Freshman Jake Gustin (Peabody, Mass.) has scored 32 runs this seasons, the seventh-most among freshmen nationally. He's hitting .275 with five doubles, 16 RBI and a team-high 21 walks.

Scouting the Huskies

• UConn enters the week at 19-12 overall. The Huskies were ranked No. 22 in the country last week but went just 2-3 on the week.
• The Huskies are hitting .262 as a team and have a team ERA of 3.86.
• Michael Woodworth is hitting .361 with six doubles, four home runs, 21 RBI and 29 runs scored.
• Anthony Prato is batting .357 with a team-high 12 doubles, 23 walks and a .486 OBP, while Chris Winkel leads the team with 28 RBI.

Scouting the Bears

• Brown enters the week at 8-17 overall but has won each of its last four after a weekend sweep of Cornell.
• Parke Philips leads the team with a .301 average and 18 RBI.
• Willy Homza, Mark Sluys and Rich Ciufo have all hit four home runs.
• The Bears own a team ERA of 7.60.

Up Next

Bryant opens a three-game non-conference series with the University of Hartford on Friday afternoon at Conaty Park. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.