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Season Preview: Pitchers
Posted: Feb 15, 2023

Season Preview: Pitchers

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University baseball team opens its 2023 season on Friday, February 17 against High Point. BryantBulldogs.com previews the 2023 team leading up to Opening Day.

Position: Pitchers
Returners: Matthew Stansky, Logan Frasier, Liam LeVangie, M.T. Morrissey, Coleman Picard, Jared Burrows, Kyle Rizy, Austin Wainer, Jackson Vanesko, Ken Turner, Brett Wichrowski, Mark Scamardella, Ryan Bradley
Newcomers: Chase Jeter, Toby Scheidt, Joe Biancone, Tyler Tornberg, Kaden Hilburger, Vincent Purpura

The Breakdown

  • Bryant returns a deep group on the mound that accounted for 39 starts (68 percent) last spring. The group also returns 69 percent of the innings from last year's staff.
  • The big loss is at the top as the Black and Gold will have to replace Friday starter Collin Lowe who went 5-4 with a 2.79 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 80.2 innings.
  • Who takes over the Friday role full time this year is unclear but Coleman Picard will get the first crack at it on Opening Day at High Point. Picard pitched in 16 games out of the bullpen last spring, going 1-2 with three saves and a 2.70 ERA. 
  • Picard locked in down the stretch, posting six-straight scoreless outings to close out the year. 
  • Ken Turner is slated to get the ball on Saturday and looks to have a bounce-back season now fully healthy. Turner made four starts last season but threw just 6.2 innings. Over the summer, he posted a 2.45 ERA in eight appearances for Mystic in the NECBL.
  • Logan Frasier will toe the rubber on Sunday, reprising his role from last spring. Frasier closed the 2022 season with the best performance of his career, tossing a complete game in game six of the NEC Tournament to push the Bulldogs into the championship game. 
  • Frasier finished the year with a 5-3 record, 4.45 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 58.2 innings. 
  • The Bulldogs also bring back veterans Matthew Stansky, Liam LeVangie, Austin Wainer and Brett Wichrowski. Stansky is in his sixth season with the Bulldogs and is back healthy. He's made 46 career appearances, posting a 4.91 ERA. 
  • Stansky posted a 1.11 ERA in 2019 and a 2.00 ERA in 2020 before injuries forced him to miss all of 2021 and most of 2022.
  • LeVangie had the best year of his career in 2022, going 3-1 with a 3.55 ERA in 38.0 innings. He struck out 39 and walked just 10 on the year. LeVangie's first collegiate victory came in the series sweep of No. 12 East Carolina.
  • Wainer has been a mainstay on the mound in his two seasons, appearing in 26 games and posting a 3.11 ERA. He's struck out 47 batters in 46.1 career innings and gives the Bulldogs options for short or long relief.
  • Wichrowski had a strong sophomore season, making eight starts and finishing with a 2-2 record and a 5.21 ERA in 38.0 innings. He struck out 37.
  • Bryant will also look to M.T. Morrissey, Jared Burrows, Kyle Rizy and Jackson Vanesko to have big second seasons with the Black and Gold.
  • Morrissey posted a 4.96 ERA and struck out 17 in 16.1 innings, Burrows struck out 25 in 30.0 innings, Rizy finished with a 2-2 record and a 2.73 ERA and Vanesko was 2-1 with 22 strikeouts in 27.0 innings.
  • Rizy got the ball a great deal down the stretch, appearing in nine of Bryant's final 24 games. That included three appearances in the NEC Tournament.
  • Ryan Bradley made seven relief appearances last season in his first year on the mound, while Mark Scamardella has missed his first two seasons with injuries. 
  • Newcomers on the mound include grad transfer Chase Jeter, transfers Tyler Tornberg and Joe Biancone and true freshmen Toby Scheidt, Kaden Hilburger and Vincent Purpura.
  • Jeter joins the Bulldogs after earning his degree from Sacred Heart. He went 6-9 in 25 appearances (22 starts) for the Pioneers, striking out 82 batters in 112.0 innings. Jeter is also coming off a dominant summer in the Cape Cod League in which he posted a 1.05 ERA in 25.2 innings.
  • Tornberg comes to Smithfield from Rutgers and looks to get back on the bump after Covid and injuries have slowed the start of his collegiate career.
  • Biancone comes from George Washington. He played three years at GWU, seeing time in the infield and on the mound. 
  • Scheidt, Hilburger and Purpura all come in as true freshmen. Scheidt is Bryant's first recruit from the state of Missouri, while Hilburger is the first recruit from Virginia. Scheidt had a standout prep career at Rock Bridge.
  • Hilburger struck out 78 in 50.2 innings as a senior.
  • Purpura is a 6-foot-7 lefty from nearby Hopkinton, Mass.