Bulldogs rally to complete weekend sweep of Mount St. Mary's on Sunday

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Junior Buck McCarthy (Saugus, Mass.) had three hits and three RBI and freshman Justin Snyder (Georgetown, Mass.) tossed 5.2 innings of one-run relief to lead the Bryant University baseball team to a 14-9 victory and weekend sweep of Mount St. Mary's on Sunday afternoon at Conaty Park.

The Bulldogs (14-16, 6-2 NEC) fell behind 6-0 in the top of the first but scored the next 10 runs to defeat the Mountaineers (6-24, 4-8) for the 22nd-straight time. Bryant is now tied at the top of the NEC standings with Sacred Heart.

Things didn't start well for the Black and Gold on Sunday as the Mountaineers scored six runs on four hits in their first at-bat. Kory Britton opened the scoring with a bloop single to left and Zach Hostetter added an RBI single. A pair of bases-loaded walks brought home the next two runs and Ryan Owens capped the big inning with a two-run single to left.

Bryant started to chip away immediately, plating runs in the first two innings. Senior Jordan Mountford (Guelph, Ont.) and junior Robby Rinn (Warwick, R.I.) both walked and Mountford eventually scored as he stole third and advanced as the ball caromed away.

In the second, sophomore Brandon Bingel (Peabody, Mass.) started a string of five-straight singles with a base knock through the left side. Junior AJ Zarozny (Shrewsbury, Mass.) scored him with a single to right center and junior Zach Wood (Griswold, Conn.) slapped one through the left side to bring home another. Sophomore Matt Albanese (East Haddam, Conn.) drove in two runs with single to left field to make it 6-5.

The Black and Gold would tie the game in the fourth on a two-out single from Rinn. Sophomore Cole Fabio (Mahwah, N.J.) singled to start the inning and came around to score on Rinn's two-out single to left.

Bryant grabbed the lead with two runs in fifth inning. Bingel singled to start the inning, advanced to second on a wild pitch and came around to score as Mount first baseman Brian Parreira dropped a throw from short. Zarozny reached on the dropped throw, moved to third on a Wood single and then scored on a perfect bunt by Fabio to make it 8-6.

The Bulldogs tacked on two more runs in the sixth with just one hit. A single and two walks loaded the bases and Bingel was hit by a pitch to bring home a run. McCarthy then flew out to right to push the lead to 10-6.

Mount made a push in the seventh as back-to-back singles chased Snyder with one out. Freshman Logan Lessard (Cromwell, Conn.) came in and allowed an RBI single but rebounded to get a pair of ground outs to strand runners on second and third.

Bryant used the momentum to put the game away with a four-run seventh inning. Senior John Mullen (Walpole, Mass.) drew a bases-loaded walk, Zarozny delivered a sac fly and McCarthy singled up the middle to score two runs and give the Bulldogs a 14-9 lead.

Snyder entered Sunday's game with two outs and the bases loaded in the first and allowed a single to Owens. He ended the inning with a strikeout and went on to twirl a career-high 5.2 innings. Snyder allowed one run on four hits, walked one and struck out three on the way to his second win. He retired eight-straight at one point and used a key 6-4-3 double play to get out of the fifth. Lessard earned his second save, allowing two runs on five hits over the final 2.2 innings.

McCarthy (3-4, 3RBI) and Albanese (3-6, 2RBI, 2R) each had three hits and Fabio (2-5), Bingel (2-4, 2R) and Wood (2-4) each chipped in two. Zarozny finished with two RBI and two runs scored, Mountford walked three times and Rinn went 1-for-2 with two runs scored and two walks. On the weekend, McCarthy went 7-for-11 with five RBI, three runs scored and a .688 OBP. Rinn went 6-for-11 with two home runs, six RBI, eight runs scored, five walks and a 1.849 OPS.

Bryant returns to the diamond on Tuesday when it makes the short trip down to Kingston, R.I., to take on Rhode Island. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.