Bryant wins 9th-straight NEC Regular-Season Title

LAKEWOOD, N.J. – The Bryant University baseball team used a trio of two-run innings to earn a 7-5 victory over Wagner on Sunday at FirstEnergy Park.

With the victory, the Bulldogs clinched the weekend series and also captured the program's ninth-straight Northeast Conference Regular-Season title. Bryant is now 20-4 in NEC play this year and will be the No. 1 seed in the NEC Tournament Memorial Day Weekend.

On Sunday, Vito Morgese spun 6.0 innings of one-run ball and leadoff man Matt Woods collected three hits, drove in a run and scored three times. Bryant scored twice in the fifth and sixth and then scored two important insurance runs in the ninth to close the year 4-2 against the Seahawks.      

Game Information
Bryant 7, Wagner 5
Records: Bryant (24-12-1, 20-4 NEC), Wagner (10-23, 7-20 NEC)
Location: FirstEnergy Park (Lakewood, N.J.)
W|L|S: Vito Morgese (4-2) | Justin Beyer (0-2) | Kevin Gould (4)

Key Moment

• Tied 1-1 in the fifth, Woods was hit by a pitch and scored on a Jake Gustin triple. A sac fly would make it 3-1 and the Bulldogs wouldn't trail the rest of the way.            

How it Happened

• Woods opened the game with a double to left center and came home on a two-out single from Derek Smith.
• Wagner tied the game on a solo home run in the second.
• In the fifth, Woods was hit by an 0-1 pitch and scored as Gustin tripled to center. Liam McGill followed with a sac fly to make it 3-1.
• In the sixth, Brian Nicolas and Woods delivered two-out RBI singles to make it 5-1.
• Bryant pushed its lead to 7-1 with two runs in the ninth. Smith drove in the first run with a sac fly and JP Knight drove in the second run with a pinch-hit RBI double.
• Wagner rallied in the bottom of the ninth, scoring four times. Caleb Ward hit a two-run home run and Griffin Schneider had a two-run single to make it 7-5. Gould, however, was able to get a ground ball back to the mound to strand the tying runs on base.  

Stats

• Wagner outhit Bryant, 13-11.
• Woods went 3-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored.
• Gustin had two hits, including a triple.
• McGill finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
• Smith drove in a pair of runs.
• Knight clubbed an RBI double.
• Nicolas had an RBI single and stole a base.
• Morgese allowed one run on seven hits, walked two and struck out six over 6.0 innings.
• John MacDonald tossed 2.0 scoreless innings of relief.
• Gould recorded the final two outs to earn his fourth save.   

Game Notes

• Bryant won the season series with Wagner, 4-2. 
• The Bulldogs have now won all eight NEC series this year.
• Bryant has now won nine-straight NEC Regular-Season titles, the longest streak of any team in the country.
• Bryant will serve as the No. 1 seed in the NEC Tournament that will be held Memorial Day Weekend. 
• Gustin has now reached safely in 27-straight games.
• McGill has reached safely in all 32 games he's played this season.
• McGill and Gustin each have 17 multi-hit games.
• Morgese registered his third-straight quality start. He's allowed just two runs (one earned) over his last 22.2 innings.
• Smith drove in multiple runs for the second-straight day and the 10th time this year.  

Up Next

Bryant closes the regular season with a three-game home series against Mount St. Mary's starting on Thursday, May 20.