Bulldogs throw first pitch Friday vs. Rams at noon

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - The 2017 Bryant University softball season's first pitch goes out Friday at noon as the Bulldogs open with five games at the ECU Pirate Clash. Bryant will face Fordham, East Carolina and Cleveland St. 

"We are extremely excited for this upcoming weekend and feel that we are in a position to be comfortable and consistent on the field," said head coach Shayne Lotito. 

"We have been working on character development and our approach heading into games, in terms of our mentality," said assistant coach Aubrey Mable. We are focused on staying in the moment and not being effected by one pitch and the mentality during the dead time between pitches, so that when those big moments do arise, the kids are ready to step up and attack the play."

On opening day, the Bulldogs first face off against the Rams (4-1), who enter their second weekend of tournament play, having opened at the Hillenbrand Invitational in Tucson, Ariz. Fordham began the 2017 season with a 1-0 victory over No. 21 Baylor, before finishing the tournament at 4-1 with wins over Tulsa, CSUN and Northwestern. The Bulldogs will also close the ECU Pirate Clash with a 9:30 a.m. game against the Rams on Sunday.  

On Friday, the Black and Gold also battle host East Carolina at 4 p.m. The Pirates (1-4) opened their season at Georgia in the Red and Black Showcase. ECU dropped both games to the host Bulldogs, but found its first win of the season, 14-6 (5), over Winthrop. Bryant will again face the Pirates the following day at 2 p.m.  

The Bulldogs are set to play one game against Cleveland St. on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. The Vikings (1-3) enter this weekend with one win under their belt, 5-4 (8), coming against Canisius at the CSU Dome Tournament. 

"We know we are going up against some explosive offenses this weekend," said Mable. "We have been putting in the work defensively to shut them down.

"It's going to a matter of us stringing some hits together and being consistent at the plate. We need to take advantage of every base that we can. We can use our speed to our advantage and our scrappy style of play to push runs across the plate. That will allow us to give our pitchers an opportunity to lead us to victory."

Bryant begins the season following a fourth-place finish in the NEC last season. The Bulldogs won their last four conference games of the 2016 regular season, solidifying their second trip in three years to the conference post season. The Bulldogs suffered two-straight tournament losses and were eliminated but not before then seniors Elle Madsen and Hayley Bottino were named All-NEC Second Teamers. 

The Black and Gold return a number of key pieces to the lineup, including two-time captain junior Rachel Monroe (Southwick, Mass.) and 2015 NEC Most Improved Player of the Year senior Taylor Burger (Killingworth, Conn.). Last season, Monroe recorded 21 hits, four doubles, one homerun, eight RBI and 12 runs.

Burger finished 2016 with a top-five batting, on-base and slugging percentage on the team, averaging .250, .292 and .400, respectively. The outfielder totaled 30 hits, including seven doubles, one triple, three homeruns and a team-high 15 RBI.  

Sophomores Kaleigh Goulart (Marion, Mass.) and Jessica Gradillas (Nogales, Ariz.) also provided big bats for the Black and Gold last year. Goulart finished fourth on the team with 24 hits, including five doubles, two homeruns, 14 RBI and 13 runs. Gradillas recorded seven doubles, one homerun and nine RBI. Senior Haylee Haas (Moorpark, Calif.) led the team with five stolen bases, while finishing with 15 hits and seven runs.  

"This weekend is going to be huge for us in finding the lineup that works well together and which players and which positions can step up in the big moments," said Mable. "We want to be confident as a team coming out of the weekend, knowing that we built upon the successes of each game and continued to get better from game to game."

The Bulldogs will look to all 22 players on the roster to make a difference this season, beginning with Fordham on Friday at the ECU Pirates Clash.