Bulldogs, Huskies meet in regional tilt Wed.

TWO OF NEW ENGLAND'S TOP TEAMS MEET AT CONATY PARK WEDNESDAY

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Looking to rebound from a tough weekend, the Bryant University baseball team begins a six-game homestand on Wednesday, April 24 when it welcomes regional rival Connecticut to Conaty Park.

The Bulldogs (25-12-1) and the Huskies (23-16) are ranked third and second, respectively, in the most recent NEIBA poll and are meeting for the fifth-consecutive year. UConn leads the all-time series 3-1 but Bryant defeated the Huskies 7-1 last year in Storrs.

Both teams come into Wednesday's mid-week game after tough weekends. The Huskies had won five-straight games before South Florida came north and swept them last weekend. UConn, however, has some strong wins to its name this year, including Indiana, Ohio State and St. John's. The Huskies are hitting .268 as a team and are led by consensus preseason All-America second baseman LJ Mazzilli. The senior is hitting .325 with nine doubles, four triples, four home runs, 33 RBI, 35 runs scored and 19 stolen bases. Billy Ferriter is the table-setter for UConn, hitting .278 with 27 runs scored and 22 stolen bases. The Huskies will use Wednesday as a staff day with sophomore Michael Healey (0-0, 3.00) earning his second start of the year.

Bryant enters the mid-week tilt looking to regroup from a tough weekend in Bridgeport. The Bulldogs saw their 19-game winning streak snapped on Friday and then lost the series, 3-1. It marked the first time Bryant had lost a Northeast Conference series since April of 2011. The Bulldogs mustered just 25 hits in the four-game series and struck out 29 times. Senior Kevin Brown (Northborough, Mass.) continues to have a stellar year as he's hitting .392 with 29 RBI and is currently second in the country with a .530 on-base percentage. Classmate Joseph Michaud (Milford, Conn.) will get the ball for the Bulldogs and looks to continue his recent string of stellar pitching. He's won his last four starts, allowing just six runs on 19 hits over 25 innings. Michaud has walked nine and struck out 25 over that span. Last week, he tossed six scoreless innings in a victory over Stony Brook.

First pitch on Wednesday is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.