May 24, 2010

BASEBALL'S BRENT ALMEIDA NAMED NEC PITCHER OF THE WEEKE

Senior Brent Almeida was named the NEC Pitcher of the Week Monday after another strong performance on the mound against Sacred Heart last week. www.dspics.com

SOMERSET, N.J. – For the third straight week, a member of the Bryant University baseball pitching staff has been honored by the Northeast Conference with a weekly award.  Senior Brent Almeida (Fairhaven, Mass. / Fairhaven) receives his second weekly honor after pitching the Bulldogs to a win over Sacred Heart last Wednesday, a game that saw the Bulldogs officially clinch the 2010 conference regular season title. 

It was Almeida's third consecutive complete-game victory as Almeida silenced Sacred Heart over 9.0 innings in a 9-0 series-opening triumph.  Recording his second shutout in his last three appearances, the right-handed starter held SHU to six hits.  He registered a career-high eight strikeouts and issued only one base on balls.

Almeida's selection marks the third consecutive occasion on which a Bryant pitcher has garnered Akadema NEC Pitcher of the Week honors (Eric Polvani - May 17; Almeida - May 10). The senior finished the season with a perfect 6-0 record and 1.94 ERA, the seventh-best single season ERA in school history.

He concludes a brilliant career with his named etched in several career records at Bryant, including 10th all-time with 16 career wins, fifth all-time with 8 complete games, and second all-time with a career ERA of 2.71.

Bryant finished its second season of Division I with a 34-22 overall record and captured the 2010 Northeast Conference Regular Season title with a 25-7 conference record.