Bryant falls in NEC Championship to LIU

NORWICH, Conn. – The Bryant University baseball team saw its season come to a close on Sunday as it fell to Long Island University, 7-0, in game seven of the 2022 Northeast Conference Baseball Championships at Dodd Stadium.

Bryant forced the decisive seventh game with a 7-2 victory over the top-seeded Sharks earlier in the day on Sunday. The Bulldogs close their 2022 season with a 30-27 overall record.

The Sharks scored a pair of unearned runs in the top of the first and then added three big runs in the fifth and two more in the eighth to make it 7-0. Tournament Most Outstanding Player Nick Torres limited Bryant to just four hits over 6.1 innings. He allowed just one earned run in 15.1 innings against the Bulldogs this year and just one unearned run in 9.0 innings in the NEC Tournament.

Game Information
LIU 7, Bryant 0
Records: Bryant 30-27 | LIU 37-19
Location: Dodd Stadium (Norwich, Conn.)
W|L|S: Nick Torres (5-2) | Liam LeVangie (3-1)

Key Moment

• An error on the first play of the game opened the door for the Sharks as they scored two unearned runs in the first.             

How it Happened

• LIU's Seth Surrett hit a check swing to third to start the game but the throw to first got away, allowing Surrett to take second. Mikey Edelman followed with an RBI double and Carlton Harper made it 2-0 with a two-out single to center.
• It remained scoreless until the fifth as Jackson Harrigan was able to spin 3.0 scoreless frames. LIU got to the righty in the fifth, opening the inning with two-straight singles. After a strikeout, Giovanni Ciaccio singled to center to make it 3-0. Harper drove in a run with a single and a wild pitch made it 5-0. Kyle Rizy got a pop up to short and a ground ball to limit the damage.
• The Sharks added two insurance runs in the eighth on an RBI single and an HBP with the bases loaded.   

Stats and Game Notes

• Bryant finishes 21-13 all-time in the NEC Tournament. Sunday's game was Bryant University's final game as a member of the Northeast Conference.
• Bryant was making its seventh NEC Championship Round appearance. The Bulldogs made the final in 2013 (champions), 2014 (champions), 2015, 2016 (champions), 2019, 2021 and 2022.
• The Bulldogs were playing in game seven of the NEC Championship Round for the third-straight year and for the fifth time in program history. Bryant finished 1-4 in game sevens, losing each of its last four.
• In its final three game sevens, Bryant scored a combined four runs.
• With its win in game six, Bryant claimed its 12th 30-win season in the last 17 years. It is the first 30-win season for head coach Ryan Klosterman. 
• Derek Smith finished with three hits in the contest. 
• Woods finished the year with 84 hits, tied for the fourth-most in a single season in DI program history.
• Liam LeVangie started for Bryant and allowed the two unearned runs in the first.
• Harrigan allowed three runs on three hits, walked four and struck out four over 3.1 innings.
• Rizy made his third appearance of the championships and recorded two outs. He tossed 5.0 innings in three appearances. 
• Jackson Vanesko tossed 2.0 innings of relief and allowed two runs on two hits. He walked three and struck out two.
• M.T. Morrissey recorded two outs in the eighth, while Austin Wainer recorded the final four outs. Wainer struck out three in the ninth and struck out nine in three tournament appearances (6.1 innings). 

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