March 16, 2009

BASEBALL RETURNS FROM VIRGINIA; PLAYS HOME OPENER WEDNESDAY VERSUS BOSTON COLLEGE

March 16, 2009

BASEBALL RETURNS FROM VIRGINIA; PLAYS HOME OPENER WEDNESDAY VERSUS BOSTON COLLEGE

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Coming off a tremendous road trip that saw the Bulldogs go 9-2, the Bryant baseball team returns to the northeast for seven games this week, including a double-header at Holy Cross on Tuesday and their 2009 home opener against Boston College on Wednesday afternoon. The Bulldogs will also take a trip to play future Northeast Conference opponent, Monmouth, for a four-game set over the weekend.

HOW SWEEP IT IS
Bryant was nothing short of impressive in their ten-day road trip through Delaware and Virginia, starting off with a three-game sweep of Delaware State where the black and gold outscored the Hornets 36-10. Jordan English (Windsor Locks, Conn.) sparked the offense in game one, slugging three homeruns to help Bryant take its first Division I victory. The sophomore batted .667 in the series while scoring six runs. Senior catcher Jeff Vigurs (South Windsor, Conn.) drove home 12 runs in the series to go along with four doubles. The pitching staff was led by a complete game performance by Eric Polvani (Wallingford, Conn.) to get his first win of the year, with John Michael Ryan (Worcester, Mass.) and Kevin Cobb (Acton, Mass.) each picked up victories as well.

WE'RE GOING STREAKING!
Jeff Vigurs has torn apart Division I pitching through the first 13 games, riding a 12-game hit streak into action this week, only failing to get a hit in the very first game of the season against Mercer. The starting catcher also has six multi-hit games, helping him to a .386 batting average, which puts him second on the team. He also leads the team with 28 RBI and is tied with Pat O'Connor (Mattapoisett, Mass.) for first in homeruns with four.

Junior Dylan Stone (Portsmouth, R.I.) has hits in each of the last nine games, going 14-34 in that span. He is third on the team with a .386 batting average while leading the team with 11 walks and a .492 on-base percentage.

Nick Campbell (Raynham, Mass.) has a seven game hit streak entering the week, recording multiple hits in six of those contests. He leads the team with a .400 average and is tied with Vigurs and English for the most doubles with seven, while scoring the second most runs with 17.

Starting shortstop Pat McKenna (Orange, Conn.) has also found his stroke with eight hits in his last 14 at-bats in three games against James Madison. He knocked in three runs while crossing the plate seven times. O'Connor has also been solid, with hits in 10 of the 13 contests to go with his four long balls and 18 RBI.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
The Bulldogs start with a double-header on Tuesday with the Crusaders from the College of the Holy Cross, who have started the year with a 1-10 record. The Crusaders are coming off their first win of the year, beating Towson, 5-3, on Sunday. Eric Oxford hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the top of the fifth to put Holy Cross on top, 4-2. Dan Seip got the win on the mound with his 5.2 innings performance, allowing three runs on eight hits. Matt Perry leads the team at the plate with a .344 average, while Oxford has a team-best four homers and 11 RBI.

Bryant opens up at home with another ACC foe in Boston College after knocking off Virginia Tech, 7-5, last week. The Eagles have started off the season 10-4, including winning their first ACC series of the year, taking two-out-of-three from sixth ranked Florida State. Robbie Anston leads the team with a .443 batting average while Tony Sanchez is right behind him, hitting .433 and leading the team with four homeruns and 19 RBI.

The Hawks from Monmouth University have rattled off four-straight wins heading into the week, thanks in large part to the contributions from Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week Josh Boyd. Boyd went 8-for-19 (.421) while driving in six runs to lead the Hawks to a 4-1 record for the week. Monmouth has started the season with a 5-6 record with all of the games coming on the road so far. The four-game set against Bryant will be the home opener for the Hawks.

FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS
Follow the Bryant baseball team as they take on Boston College at home Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. through game tracker here.