Bryant rallies past URI, completes season sweep of in-state foes

KINGSTON, R.I. – The Bryant baseball team overcame an early 6-0 deficit, posting a 13-9 victory over in-state rival Rhode Island on Tuesday afternoon at Bill Beck Field.

With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 26-12 overall. Bryant is now 25-5 in its last 30 games and completed a perfect 6-0 record against in-state foes URI and Brown this season.

On Tuesday, the Black and Gold found themselves down 6-0 after three innings and rallied from a 7-6 deficit in the fifth and a 9-7 deficit in the sixth to earn the win.

Gavin Noriega (3-6, 2 2B, 3 RBI) and Carmine Petosa (3-4, HR, 4 RBI) paced the offensive attack. Zac Zyons (2-4, 2 2B, 3R) and Gavin Greger (2-5) each added two hits, while Daniel Baruch added a home run.

The quartet of M.T. Morrissey, Tyler Tornberg, Colin Brodeur and Ryan Bradley shut the door on the mound, combining for 5.0 no-hit innings of relief.

Game Information
Bryant 13, URI 9
Records: Bryant 26-12 | Rhode Island 12-22
Location: Bill Beck Field (Kingston, R.I.)
W|L|S: Colin Brodeur (1-0) | Jake Foster (0-1)

Key Moments

• Bryant erased a 6-0 deficit with a six-run fourth inning. Petosa drove in a run to tie the game at 9-9 and Noriega broke the deadlock with an RBI single in a four-run eighth.

How it Happened

• URI took advantage of seven Bryant walks in the first two innings to take a 6-0 lead on Tuesday. Three walks and a hit batter scored the first run and a pair of singles made it 4-0.
• In the second, a high pop up on the infield got caught in the wind and fell for a two-run single.
• Bryant erased the deficit with six runs in the top of the fourth. Baruch fouled off three straight 3-2 pitches before clobbering a home run to dead center to get Bryant on the board. Shea Grady then drew a walk and came around to score from first as Jacob Gaudreau's fly ball to center fell in front of a diving center fielder and got past him.
• URI then made a pitching change and Zyons greeted the new pitcher with a double off the right center wall to make it 6-4. Noriega followed with a 2-run double to left center to tie the game at 6-6.
• The Rams answered with a run in the bottom of the fourth to retake the lead. Two opposite field singles and a fielder's choice plated the run.
• Bryant rallied to tie it again in the fifth and sixth as the two teams scored in five consecutive half innings. In the fifth, Greger and Grady roped back-to-back doubles to knot the game at 7-7.
• URI retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth but Bryant quickly answered in the sixth. Zyons was HBP and Noriega followed with a ground rule double to right center. A passed ball plated Zyons and Petosa brought home Noriega to make it 9-9.
• Tyler Tornberg and Colin Brodeur delivered scoreless outings to keep the game tied into the 8^th.
• In the top of the eighth, Zyons opened with a double and scored on a Noriega single to center to give Bryant the lead. After a walk, Petosa laced an 0-2 pitch over the right field wall for a three-run home run.

Inside the Box Score

• Bryant outhit URI, 13-7.
• Noriega finished 3-for-6 with two doubles, three RBI and two runs scored.
• Petosa was 3-for-4 with a double, home run and four RBI.
• Zyons doubled twice and scored three runs. He reached safely four times with a walk and an HBP.
• Baruch homered and drove in two.
• Greger picked up two hits, including a double.
• Grady and Gaudreau each picked up an RBI double.
• Mark Scamardella struck out three over 1.2 scoreless innings of relief.
• Morrissey and Tornberg each recorded a scoreless inning.
• Brodeur earned the win with 1.2 scoreless innings. He struck out two.
• Bradley recorded the final four outs, striking out the side in the ninth.

Game Notes

• Bryant is now 16-10-1 against URI.
• The Bulldogs went 6-0 against in-state rivals URI (2-0) and Brown (4-0) this season.
• The Bulldogs are now 25-5 after starting the season 1-7.
• Bryant collected eight doubles and 10 total extra-base hits on Tuesday.
• Noriega collected multiple doubles for the first time this season. He collected his 15^th multi-hit game and 10^th multi-RBI game.
• Petosa extended his on-base streak to 38 games this season and 41 dating back to last season with a first inning HBP. It is the longest on-base streak since Chris Wright reached in 42-straight games during the 2019 season.
• Petosa now has seven doubles in his last eight games.
• Petosa's home run was his 7^th of the season and the 21^st of his career. He is now tied with Jake Gustin for fifth in DI program history.
• Zyons extended his on-base streak to 18 games with his 13^th multi-hit game of the year.
• Greger collected his first multi-hit game since April 2 at Brown. He now has nine on the year.    

Up Next
Bryant heads to Pittsburgh for a non-conference series with the Panthers. The series opens Friday at 6:00 p.m.