Bryant visits Maryland this weekend for a big three-game series

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University baseball team will face another big challenge this weekend as it plays a three-game series at Big Ten favorite University of Maryland. The series opens on Friday with a first pitch scheduled for 4:00 p.m. at Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium.

This weekend's series will be the second meeting between the two programs, with the Terrapins (5-7) taking all three games from the Bulldogs (8-2) to start the 2014 season. Maryland won the first two games by shutout, 3-0 and 3-0, before earning the sweep with a 7-3 victory.

Maryland has made back-to-back trips to the NCAA Super Regionals but has had an up-and-down 3 1/2 weeks to start the season. The Terps won 2-of-3 last weekend at the Keith LeClair Classic but are coming off back-to-back mid-week losses, including a 19-10 defeat at the hands of George Washington on Wednesday. Bryant is off to its best 10-game start in Division I history following a series victory over George Mason last weekend.

The series will open with a marquee pitching matchup on Friday afternoon as Bulldog sophomore James Karinchak (Walden, N.Y.) will face Terrapin ace Mike Shawaryn. There should be a good deal of professional scouts in attendance as Karinchak is turning into one of the top prospects in draft class of 2017, while Shawaryn has established himself as one of the highest junior prospects in the country. Karinchak is 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 18 innings and Shawaryn is 1-1 with a 3.63 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings.

Karinchak was named a Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week on Monday following a dominant performance against George Mason in which he tied a Bryant DI program record with 13 strikeouts. Shawaryn is a First Team Preseason All-American and is coming off a sophomore season in which he went 13-2 with a 1.71 ERA and 138 strikeouts in 116 innings.

Junior Brandon Bingel (Peabody, Mass.) and senior James Davitt (Wallingford, Conn.) will follow Karinchak on Saturday and Sunday. Bingel is 1-1 with a 4.61 ERA in three starts, while Davitt is 2-0 after striking out a career-high eight over six scoreless innings last weekend.

The trio will face a Terrapin offense that is trying to find its identity after losing several key pieces to graduation and the draft. Maryland is hitting .284 as a team and are led by freshman Nick Dunn (.442, 52B, 10RBI, 13R). Nick Cieri leads the team with 11 RBI and Madison Nickens has already hit five home runs, including two on Wednesday. The Terps have struck out 96 times, though, and hit into 11 double plays.

Maryland will follow Shawaryn with Taylor Bloom on Saturday and Brian Shaffer on Sunday. Bloom is 2-1 with a 2.37 ERA and has 19 strikeouts and just two walks in 19 innings. Shaffer is 0-1 with a 5.68 ERA but has allowed just 11 hits in 12 2/3 innings. The Terps have a 5.02 team ERA and have better than a 3:1 K:BB ratio.

Shawaryn, Bloom and Shaffer will have their hands full with the Bulldogs' veteran lineup that is full of thumpers. Bryant is hitting .273 as a team with 27 doubles through the first 10 games. The Black and Gold rank 12th nationally in doubles per game with 2.70. Seniors Robby Rinn (Warwick, R.I.) and AJ Zarozny (Shrewsbury, Mass.) are both off to excellent starts and are tied for the team lead with six two-baggers. Rinn is hitting .422 with 12 RBI and nine runs scored, while Zarozny is hitting .389 with six RBI and seven runs scored.

Live audio for all three games this weekend will be available through the Maryland Baseball Network.