Baseball opens 2020 season Friday at Seahawk Classic

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University baseball team opens the 2020 season with the Seahawk Classic this weekend in Wilmington, N.C.

Bryant begins the weekend with two games against Dayton and closes the weekend with two games against UNC Wilmington.

The Particulars
Opponents: Dayton and UNC Wilmington
Location: Brooks Field (Wilmington, N.C.)
Date and Time: Feb. 14 – 12 PM | Feb. 15 – 12 PM and 4 PM | Feb. 16 – 2 PM
Watch (UNCW games only): Stretch Internet
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Game Notes: Bryant | UNCW | Dayton
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | #NECBASE

Pitching Probables
Friday – Tyler Mattison (9-1, 3.47) vs. Hunter Wolfe (9-4, 3.70)
Saturday – Will Treuel (1-1, 9.13) vs. Ben Olson (1-2, 4.63)
Saturday – Tyler Schoff (2-0, 5.84) vs. Luke Gesell (5-5, 3.59)
Sunday – TBA vs. TBA

Junior Tyler Mattison (Fort Ann, N.Y.) gets the ball on Opening Day for the second-straight season this Friday. Mattison tied for the team lead with nine wins last season and allowed three runs or less in each of his final 10 starts. Classmates Will Treuel (Wolfeboro, N.H.) and Tyler Schoff (Lee Center, N.Y.) are slated to start on Saturday. Treuel was second on the team with 22 appearances last spring but will be making his first career start. Schoff made seven midweek starts last season, going 2-0 with a 5.84 ERA.  

Bryant vs. Dayton and UNCW

• Bryant will be facing Dayton for the second time in program history this weekend.
• The two teams met twice in 2013, with the Bulldogs sweeping a doubleheader, 3-2 and 3-1.
• Bryant will be facing UNCW for the first time in program history.

Bulldog Notes and Notables

• The Bulldogs finished 2019 with a 40-20 overall record, falling in the championship round of the 2019 NEC Tournament.
• Bryant set program and NEC records for home runs (81), hits (679), RBI (455) and runs scored (487).
• The Black and Gold return six players that started 17 or more games a season ago.
• James Ciliento (Mahwah, N.J.) had 15 doubles, 10 home runs, 57 RBI and a DI program record 66 runs scored in 2019.
• Gaby Cruz (Miami, Fla.) is back after hitting .354 with nine home runs and 37 RBI. Cruz is listed as one of the top hitters nationally in an analytical study done by D1Baseball.com.
• Jake Gustin (Peabody, Mass.) and Brian Nicolas (Langhorne, Pa.) both return after strong rookie seasons. The duo combined for 49 RBI and 60 runs scored.
• On the mound, Bryant returns four its top relief options in Matthew Stansky (Douglas, Mass.), Jackson Harrigan (Brockton, Mass.), Jack Owens (Scituate, R.I.) and Jack Ipsen (Eatontown, N.J.).
• Stansky tied the DI program record for single-season ERA with a 1.11 mark in 2019.
• Harrigan, Owens and Ipsen combined for a 58:23 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Scouting the Flyers

• Dayton won 32 games last season, falling in the A-10 Championship game to Fordham.
• Alex Brickman led the team with seven home runs, while Eddie Pursinger hit seven home runs and drove in 35.
• On the mound, Hunter Wolfe went 9-4 with a 3.70 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 82.1 innings.

Scouting the Seahawks

• UNCW won the 2019 CAA Championship and has made the NCAA Tournament six times in the last eight years.
• The Seahawks will benefit from the return of two seniors that were drafted as juniors last June.
• Zarion Sharpe went 3-3 with a 4.21 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 57.2 innings, while Cole Weiss hit .305 with 13 doubles, four home runs and 49 RBI.