Noriega drives in five as Bryant downs Binghamton on Friday

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Gavin Noriega drove in five runs and finished a double shy of the cycle as the Bryant baseball team earned a 10-3 victory over Binghamton in the first game of their America East series on Friday afternoon at Conaty Park.

With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 20-11 overall and 9-1 in America East play. Friday's victory also marked Bryant's 500^th Division I win.

Noriega led Bryant's offensive attack with three of the team's 15 hits, going 3-for-5 with a triple, home run and five RBI. Carmine Petosa matched him with three hits, while Jackson Phinney also homered. Zac Zyons (2-5, 2R), Matt Smith (2-4, R) and Chris Einemann (2-4, RBI, 2R) all added two hits.

Game Information
Bryant 10, Binghamton 3
Records: Bryant 20-11, 9-1 AE | Binghamton 13-16, 3-7 AE
Location: Conaty Park (Smithfield, R.I.)
W|L|S: Austin Wainer (2-1) | John Lumpinski (1-4) | Zach Nichols (7)

Key Moments

• Noriega broke a 1-1 tie with a three-run home run in the third inning. Bryant would go on to score five times in the inning.   

How it Happened

• Bryant opened the scoring with an unearned run in the first. Petosa hit a ground ball to first that the Bearcats threw to second for an out. The return throw to first got away, allowing Zyons to score.
• The Bearcats answered with an unearned run in the top of the second. An infield error allowed a runner to reach and a pair of singles brought him around to make it 1-1.
• Bryant grabbed the lead with a five-run third inning. Chris Einemann and Zyons opened the inning with singles and Noriega followed with a towering three-run home run to right center to make it 4-1. Petosa then doubled with one out and Phinney followed with a laser over the left field wall to make it 6-1.
• Petosa pushed the lead to 7-1 with an RBI double off the left field wall.
• The Bearcats made things interesting, bringing the tying run to the plate in the top of the eighth inning. Zach Nichols came on with the bases loaded and two outs, inducing a comebacker to end the threat.
• Bryant would then tack on three insurance runs in the bottom half. Einemann drove in a run with a single and Noriega plated two with a triple off the wall in dead center.   

Inside the Box Score

• Bryant outhit Binghamton, 15-6.
• Austin Wainer allowed one run (unearned) on four hits, walked one and struck out four over 6.0 innings to earn the win.
• Bradley Lewis allowed two runs over 1.2 innings of relief.
• Nichols recorded the final four outs to earn his seventh save.
• Noriega finished 3-for-5 with a triple, home run and five RBI.
• Petosa picked up three hits, including a pair of doubles.
• Zyons had two hits and two runs scored, while Einemann had two hits, two runs scored and an RBI.
• Matt Smith added a pair of hits.
• Phinney clubbed a two-run home run.

Game Notes

• Bryant improves to 4-3 all-time vs Binghamton. The Bulldogs have won 3-of-4 at Conaty Park.
• The Bulldogs are now 19-4 after starting the season 1-7.
• Friday's victory was Bryant's 500^th Division I win.
• The Bulldogs are now 12-3 at home this season.
• Petosa extended his on-base streak to 31 games this season and 34 dating back to last season.
• Petosa has four doubles in his last six games. The three hits match his career high.
• Brandyn Durand extended his on-base streak to 15 games with his single.  
• Noriega now has 11 home runs on the season, tying him with Matt Albanese (2016) for the fifth-most in a single season in DI program history.
• Noriega also matched his career high with his fourth career three-hit game.
• Phinney's home run was his fourth of the year and the 18^th of his career, tying him seventh in DI program history with Petosa, Shane Kelly, Matt Albanese and Buck McCarthy.
• Einemann posted his eighth multi-hit game of the year.
• Zyons extended his hitting streak to eight games and his on-base streak to 11 games. He has seven multi-hit games this year.
• Wainer has now pitched at least 6.0 innings in each of his four America East starts. He is now 2-0 with a 2.52 ERA in 25.0 innings of AE play.
• Nichols picked up his league-leading seventh save of the year. He is now tied with Logan Lessard (2017) for the 10^th-most saves in a single season in DI program history.

Up Next
Bryant and Binghamton continue their series on Saturday with a 12:00 p.m. first pitch.