Late rally falls short in 9-7 loss to Wagner

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University baseball team scored seven times in the bottom of the eighth but were unable to complete the comeback, falling to Wagner College 9-7 on Friday afternoon at Conaty Park.

With the loss, the Bulldogs fall to 26-25 overall and 16-10 in the Northeast Conference. Bryant missed a golden chance to pull even with first-place LIU on Friday as the Sharks fell in game two of their series at Mount St. Mary's. The best the Black and Gold can do now is tie for first, needing to win on Saturday as well as have LIU lose again.

On Friday, Wagner's Eli Shedd limited Bryant to just two hits over 7.0 scoreless innings. He walked one and struck out eight. Bryant took advantage of his departure, scoring seven times off reliever Brandon Demma to pull within two. Shane Kelly highlighted the inning with his second-career grand slam.  

Game Information
Wagner 9, Bryant 7
Records: Bryant 26-25, 16-10 NEC | Wagner 17-33, 12-14 NEC
Location: Conaty Park (Smithfield, R.I.)
W|L|S: Eli Shedd (3-0) | Brett Wichrowski (2-2) | Zach Gorman (1)

Key Moment

• Leading 1-0, the Seahawks scored three times in the fifth and three more times in the sixth to make it a 7-0 game.       

How it Happened

• Wagner grabbed the lead with a single run in the third. An RBI single through the left side scored the run but Brett Wichrowski was able to limit the damage, stranding the bases loaded.
• It remained 1-0 until a two-out error extended the Wagner fifth. After an intentional walk, Griffin Selby hit a three-run home run to left center.
• The Seahawks extended their lead with three more runs in the sixth. Wagner scored on a solo home run and a two-run single.
• An unearned run in the seventh and eighth made it 9-0 Wagner. In the eighth, the Wagner runner on third was sent home after it was ruled Bryant threw the ball out of play before time was called.
• Bryant rallied in the eighth, scoring seven runs on four hits. Michael Stellato walked and Logan Allen singled to start the inning and Matt Woods followed with a chopper to first that hit the bag and went down the right field line for a two-run triple. Jake Gustin scored Woods with a ground out.
• Back-to-back errors restarted the inning and Carmine Petosa walked to load the bases. Kelly then crushed the first pitch of his at-bat to dead center for his second-career grand slam to make it 9-7.   
• Bryant put the tying run on base twice in the ninth but the Seahawks turned a double play and then got a fly ball to center.  

Stats and Game Notes

• Bryant owns a 36-16 lead in the all-time series between the two teams.
• The Bulldogs are now 14-5 at home this season.
• Brett Wichrowski allowed one run on one hit over 3.0 innings. He walked three and struck out two.
• Liam LeVangie surrendered six runs (three earned) on three hits over 2.1 innings.  
• Austin Wainer tossed a scoreless ninth.
• Allen finished 3-for-3 with a walk. 
• Kelly hit his third home run of the year and his second-career grand slam. His last grand slam came on Mar. 9, 2019 at Elon.
• Woods collected his sixth triple of the year. He's tied for the fifth-most in a single season in program history. 

Up Next
Bryant and Wagner wrap up the series on Saturday afternoon at Conaty Park. The regular-season finale is set for a 1:00 p.m. first pitch.