Bulldogs welcome Eagles to Smithfield for Wednesday's regional battle

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Looking to snap a four-game losing streak, the Bryant University softball team is set to face Boston College in one game on Wednesday, beginning at 4 p.m. at Conaty Park.

The Bulldogs (5-24, 0-2 NEC) most recently dropped their home doubleheader against Robert Morris, including a 6-5 deficit in extra innings. In the contest, sophomore Kaleigh Goulart (Marion, Mass.) knocked her third homer of the season, placing the three-RBI rip over the centerfield fence to pull the Bulldogs within one, 6-5, in the bottom of the eighth. Despite the hard-hit homer, the Bulldogs couldn't come all the way back, dropping their second conference game of the season.

Goulart averages .246 on the year, while senior Haylee Haas (Moorpark, Calif.) continues to lead the team, batting .263. Freshmen Tiffany Bell (Egg Harbor City, N.J.) and Nicole Zukowski (Medford, N.Y.) have climbed to .225 and .216, respectively, while the team averages .198 through the first 29 games.

Rookie Gabrielle Ermish (Pottstown, Pa.) continues to lead the staff, sitting 3-6 in the circle, while averaging a 4.53 ERA in 59 innings. The freshman also tops the staff with 27 strikeouts in 13 appearances.

The Eagles (20-12, 6-2 ACC) are 6-6 on the road, but enter Wednesday's contest on a three-game winning streak, most recently defeating UMass Lowell, 3-1, and Syracuse in back-to-back games, 2-1.

Taylor Coroneos leads BC, batting .365 this season, while totaling a team-high 38 hits, including three doubles. Tatiana Cortez tops the charts with 28 homeruns, batting .295 in 88 at bats.

Three of the four pitchers on the staff average ERAs below 2.60, including Jessica Dreswick's team-best 2.03. Dreswick is 14-5 this season, making 25 appearances. As the go-to, the junior has thrown a team-high 97 strikeouts in 127 innings, averaging double the strikeouts and innings pitched than the next best pitcher on the team.

The Eagles lead the Division I series, 7-1, winning last year's contest, 2-0, in Smithfield. The Bulldogs found their only win over the Eagles, 6-3, on the road in the 2010-11 season.

First pitch is set for Wednesday at 4 p.m. Fans can follow along with live stats at bryantathletics.com.