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Baseball travels to Northeastern Tuesday

BULLDOGS AND HUSKIES MEET IN MID-WEEK TILT

Baseball Weekly

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Searching for its first midweek victory in over a month, the Bryant University baseball team travels to Boston, Mass., on Tuesday, April 17 to face Northeastern University at Freidman Diamond. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.

The Bulldogs (20-15) have dropped three-straight midweek games since defeating Liberty, 6-2, on March 13, and will also be looking for their third victory against the Huskies (14-17). The two teams met for the first time in 2009 with the Black and Gold taking a 5-4 victory but Northeastern responded by taking two-of-three in 2010. They did not meet last year.

This season, the Huskies have lost 10 of their last 12 games. They snapped an eight-game losing streak with back-to-back wins over Harvard and George Mason before dropping the final two games of their CAA series with the Patriots this past weekend. Offense has not been an issue for most of the season, as Northeastern is hitting .289 as a team. Leading the way is Aaron Barbosa with a .364 average, eight stolen bases and 20 runs scored. Jason Vosler has been the Huskies main power threat, recording 10 doubles, five home runs and 33 RBI so far this season. Rob Fonseca has also hit five home runs and the Huskies have hit 19 as a team.

On the mound, Northeastern has struggled a bit, posting a 5.26 team ERA. Seven different players have recorded a victory on the season and the Bulldogs could see either Nick Berger or Michael Foster. Berger is 2-1 with a 5.01 ERA in 23 1/3 innings and Foster hasn't recorded a decision while posting a 3.24 ERA in 8 1/3 innings.

Bryant will be looking to rebound after suffering a tough loss in its series finale with Sacred Heart. The Bulldogs allowed three unearned runs in the top of the ninth inning and saw their eight-game conference win streak snapped in the process. Senior Connor Carignan (Norwich, Conn.) had a monster weekend against the Pioneers, collecting eight hits in the four games. Over his last 16 games, he has raised his average over 100 points and now leads the team with a .288 average. Junior Kevin Brown (Northborough, Mass.) is also putting up strong numbers for the Black and Gold, slugging a robust .561 and leading the team in both RBI (25) and runs scored (27). Senior Brian O'Neil (North Reading, Mass.) will make fourth start of the season on Tuesday against the Huskies.

Tuesday's game will also feature an interesting coaching matchup as Northeastern pitching coach Kevin Cobb and hitting coach Jeff Vigurs are both Bryant alums. Cobb won 19 games in his Bulldog career and was an assistant coach at Bryant the last two seasons. Vigurs is the all-time leader in doubles and is second in career hits and RBI. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 22nd round of the 2010 MLB amateur draft following his senior year with the Black and Gold.

The Bulldogs game with Northeastern starts a six-game road trip that includes a four-game series against Quinnipiac this weekend and midweek trip to the University of Connecticut the following Tuesday (April 24).