May 6, 2008

BRYANT EARNS HIGHEST NATIONAL RANKING SINCE 2004 COLLEGE WORLD SERIES APPEARANCE, RANKED NO. 12 BY NCBWA

Junior transfer Pat O'Connor has team and conference bests in both doubles (19) and home runs (8).

Poll

SMITHFIELD, RI -- The Bryant University baseball team is more than surpassing its 2008 expectations, and its success is paying off.

The 2008 Northeast-10 Conference regular-season champs, Bryant (38-17) enter this weekend's conference tournament not just at the top of the conference, but also No. 1 in the region, a ranking the Bulldogs hold for the second-consecutive week. 

But with a 35-17 overall record entering last weekend's action, the Bulldogs received an even bigger payday from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association -- a No. 12 national ranking.

The 12 spot is the highest Bryant has been ranked in the national polls since its College World Series appearance in 2004, when the Bulldogs finished the season ranked No. 6.

Bryant enters the NE-10 Tournament as the No. 1 seed and will faceoff against the winner of Wednesday's play-in game (Pace at UMass Lowell) on Friday, May 9 at 7 p.m. at Franklin Pierce University's Pappas Field.