Bryant, Maine meet in Orono this weekend

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant baseball team continues its road trip with a three-game series at Maine this weekend. Bryant and Maine are scheduled to open their series on Friday at 3:00 p.m.

Bryant enters the weekend first in the America East with a 14-4 league record.    

The Particulars
Opponent: Maine
Location: Mahaney Diamond (Orono, Maine)
Date and Time: Friday, May 10 - 3:00 PM | Saturday, May 11 - 2:00 PM | Sunday, May 12 - 12:00 PM
Live Stats: Sidearm
Video: AmericaEast.tv
Game Notes: Bryant
Social Media: Facebook | X | Instagram | #AEBASE  

Probable Starting Pitchers 

Friday - Austin Wainer vs. Geoff Mosseau
Saturday - Luke Delongchamp vs. Gabe Gifford
Sunday - TBD vs. TBD

• Austin Wainer gets the ball on Friday and is the reigning America East Pitcher of the Week. The righty from Johns Creek, Ga., tossed 6.0 scoreless innings and struck out five last Friday at NJIT. 
• Wainer has pitched at least 6.0 innings in all six AE starts, posting a 4-0 record and a 1.89 ERA in 38.0 innings. He has struck out 31 and walked just 11. 
• Luke Delongchamp has also shined in league play, going 3-0 with a 0.84 ERA in six starts. He has walked nine and struck out 34 in 32.0 innings. Opponents are hitting .190 against him.
• Last week, Delongchamp carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning before allowing a two-run home run. He finished his outing with a career high nine strikeouts and allowed two runs on just the one hit in 6.0 innings.
• Mosseau is 2-1 with a 5.32 ERA in 11 appearances, two starts. He has walked 17 and struck out 28 in 23.2 innings. Opponents are hitting .266 off of him. Mosseau has tossed 3.0 scoreless innings of relief in each of the last two conference weekends.
• Gifford is 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA in 31.0 innings. He has walked 45 and struck out 46. Gifford struck out 10 over 5.0 innings last week vs UMBC and eight in 3.2 innings of relief vs Bryant earlier this year.

Bryant vs. Maine

• Bryant and Maine have split 10 all-time meetings. The Bulldogs won 2-of-3 against the Black Bears at Conaty Park earlier this year. 
• Bryant earned walk-off victories in both games of a March 22 doubleheader, 5-4 and 5-4. Maine won the series finale, 1-0.
• Maine took a 4-3 lead in the top of the seventh of game one but Bryant rallied to tie and then win it in the bottom of the eighth. 
• In game two, Bryant tied the game in the bottom of the eighth and then won on a walk-off single by Gavin Noriega.  

America East Playoff Picture

• Bryant enters the weekend with a 3.0 game lead on UMBC for first place. The Bulldogs are 14-4, while the Retrievers sit at 11-7.
• The Bulldogs' magic number to clinch a top two seed in the conference tournament is 2, while its magic number to clinch the regular season title is three (any combination of three Bryant wins or three UMBC losses).
• UML is in third place at 10-10, while NJIT is 8-9. UAlbany is 8-12, Binghamton is 7-11 and Maine is 6-11. 
• The top six teams in the standings qualify for the 2024 America East Baseball Championships. 

Bulldog Notes and Notables

• Bryant enters the week 29-16 overall and 14-4 in the America East following a series loss at NJIT. The Black and Gold are 28-9 since starting the year 1-7. This past weekend marked Bryant's first series loss in America East play.
• Carmine Petosa has reached safely in all 45 games this season and his on-base streak sits at 48 dating back to last year. The streak is the longest by a Bulldog since Robby Rinn reached in 50-straight in 2016. Petosa is hitting .307 with 16 doubles, 10 home runs, 48 RBI, 43 runs scored and a .475 OBP. Petosa now has 24 career home runs, ranking second in DI program history.
• Gavin Noriega continues to pace the America East with 49 RBI and 47 runs scored. He has clubbed a program record 15 home runs and owns a .475 OBP.
• Zac Zyons brings an 25-game on-base streak into the weekend. He is hitting .444 with six home runs, 18 RBI and 23 runs scored in America East play. Zyons leads the league with a .384 average on the year. 
• As a team, Bryant is second in the league in average but leads the league in runs, doubles, home runs, slugging, walks and OPS.
• Bryant is second in the league with a 5.04 team ERA and is first with 338 strikeouts.  
• Delongchamp leads the league with a 2.17 ERA and Wainer ranks fourth with a 3.25 ERA. 

Scouting the Black Bears

• Maine enters the weekend with a 10-32 overall record and a 6-11 mark in league play.
• The Black Bears were swept by UMBC last weekend. 
• Maine is hitting .255 as a team and has a team ERA of 9.04.
• Jeremiah Jenkins leads the way with a .335 average and a league-leading 19 home runs. He has 43 RBI and a 1.198 OPS.
• Myles Sargent is hitting .474 in America East play, while Jake Marquez has six home runs and 29 RBI.