Baseball opens NEC Tournament Thursday at noon

TOURNAMENT HEADQUARTERS

NORWICH, Conn. – The Bryant University baseball team begins its quest for a Northeast Conference Championship when it opens the 2021 NEC Baseball Championships on Thursday afternoon at Dodd Stadium in Norwich.

The 2021 NEC Baseball Championships is a four-team double-elimination tournament that takes place from Thursday through Sunday. Tickets to the 2021 NEC Baseball Championships may be purchased at Dodd Stadium on the day of the event. Ticket prices will be on a "per day" basis. Ticket prices will cost $10 for General Admission and $5 for Seniors and children 12 years of age and under. NEC students with a valid ID will be admitted free.

The Particulars
Opponent (Thursday): Long Island
Location: Dodd Stadium (Norwich, Conn.) | Directions
Date and Time: May 27 – 12:00 p.m. | May 28 – TBA | May 29 - TBA
Watch: NECFrontRow.com
Live Stats: Thursday
Game Notes: Bryant
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | #TCD | #NECBASE

NEC Tournament History

• Bryant will be making its eighth appearance in the NEC Tournament this weekend. The Bulldogs have qualified for the NEC Tournament and served as the No. 1 seed in all eight years they have been eligible (since 2013).
• The Bulldogs are 16-9 in the NEC Tournament, having won NEC Tournament titles in 2013, 2014 and 2016.
• Bryant is 12-8 in 20 tournament games played at Dodd Stadium.

Setting the Field

• Bryant will serve as the No. 1 seed for the eighth-straight year after claiming its ninth-straight NEC Regular-Season title.
• Central Connecticut will serve as the No. 2 seed and are the defending tournament champs.
• Sacred Heart will serve as the No. 3 seed.
• LIU will serve as the No. 4 seed.

Bulldog Notes and Notables

• Bryant enters the weekend at 25-12-1 overall. The Bulldogs won their ninth consecutive regular season title with a 21-4 NEC record. 
• Bryant enters the NEC Tournament ranked 15th nationally in batting average, 12th in scoring, eighth in ERA and fifth in shutouts. 
• Liam McGill was named the NEC Player of the Year on Wednesday. He leads the nation in average (.467) and OBP (.542). McGill enters the tournament on a 33-game hitting streak.
• Tyler Mattison earned NEC Pitcher of the Year honors after going 9-3 with a 2.21 ERA. He has 86 strikeouts and went 8-1 with a 1.20 ERA in league play. 
• Head coach Ryan Klosterman was named the NEC Coach of the Year. 
• Bryant also placed five on the All-NEC First Team (Mattison, McGill, Jake Gustin, James Ciliento, Derek Smith). 
• Tyler Schoff, Vito Morgese and Damaurys Rodriguez were named All-NEC Second Team. 
• Gustin leads the NEC in runs scored and total bases.
• Ciliento is playing in his 200th game on Thursday and is second in DI program history in runs scored and RBI. 
• Schoff and Morgese combined to go 10-3 on the year. Schoff has struck out 62 and walked 12, while Morgese has 52 strikeouts and just 18 walks. 

Scouting the Sharks

• LIU enters the tournament 20-13 overall and 18-11 in NEC play.
• The Sharks are hitting .262 as a team and have a 3.65 team ERA. 
• Thursday starter Josh Loeschorn allowed just one run over 7.0 innings to Bryant earlier this year.
• EJ Exposito has five home runs and 26 RBI. 
• The Sharks have stolen a league-high 94 bases.

Scouting the Blue Devils

• CCSU is the defending NEC Tournament champ and enters the weekend 24-12 overall and 21-9 in league play. 
• The Blue Devils are hitting .282 with a .391 OB and have a team ERA of 3.64. They have struck out 278 and walked just 96 on the year.
• Noah Martinez and Dave Matthews have six home runs, while Jay Devito is fourth nationally in OBP .529.

Scouting the Pioneers

• Sacred Heart enters the weekend 21-21 overall.
• The Pioneers are hitting .235 and have a team ERA of 5.37.
• Austin Markmann is hitting .275 with 39 RBI, while Elijah Brown has 27 stolen bases.