Bryant visits Pitt for non-conference series

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant baseball team heads to Pittsburgh this weekend for a three-game set with the Panthers starting Friday at 6:00 p.m.

This weekend is Bryant's second and final conference bye weekend and marks the Bulldogs' final non-conference series of the year.

Probable Starting Pitchers

Friday - Austin Wainer vs. Ryan Andrade
Saturday - Luke Delongchamp vs. Jack Sokol
Sunday - TBA vs. Ryan Reed

Austin Wainer and Luke Delongchamp will start games 1 and 2 this weekend, while Sunday's starter is still TBA.
Wainer was named the America East Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday after he matched his career high in innings (7.0) and strikeouts (9) last week against UML.
He has now worked at least 6.0 innings in each of his last five starts, allowing one run or less in three of those.
Wainer enters the weekend 3-1 with a 3.66 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 51.2 innings.
Delongchamp is coming off an outing in which he allowed six unearned runs over 5.0 innings vs UML. The righty has walked four batters in each of his last two outings.
Delongchamp has struck out 40 and walked just 11 in 44.0 innings this spring.
Ryan Andrade is 0-3 with a 9.54 ERA for the Panthers. A transfer from URI, Andrade has struck out 43 and walked 28 in 38.2 innings. He struck out eight and allowed three runs on three hits over 4.1 innings last week vs No. 6 Clemson.
Sokol leads the staff with a 4.99 ERA and is 4-2 on the year. He has been great his last two starts for nationally-ranked Duke and Clemson, allowing two runs on two hits over 7.0 vs Duke before tossing 6.0 shutout innings vs Clemson last week.
Reed is a lefty who is 0-5 with a 7.29 ERA in 42.0 innings. He has struck out 33, walked 21 and allowed 57 hits on the year. Reed allowed five runs (three earned) on eight hits in 4.0 innings last week.

Bryant vs. Pitt

Bryant and Pitt are meeting for the first time in program history this weekend.
Pitt is just the second ACC team the Bulldogs have faced in a weekend series (Virginia Tech).

Bulldog Notes and Notables

Bryant enters the weekend 26-12 overall following a 13-9 victory over URI on Tuesday. The Black and Gold are 25-5 since starting the year 1-7. Bryant has won each of its last seven weekend series, going 19-2 those seven series.
Offensively, the Bulldogs lead the America East in home runs (51) and slugging (.471).
Carmine Petosa has reached safely in all 38 games this season and his on-base streak sits at 41 dating back to last year. The streak is the longest by a Bulldog since Chris Wright reached safely in 42-straight in 2019. Petosa is hitting .297 with 12 doubles, seven home runs, 36 RBI, 37 runs scored and a .468 OBP. Petosa is tied for fifth in DI program history with 21 career home runs.
Gavin Noriega has reached safely in all but one game this season and enters the weekend with a .343/.470/.734 slash line. He leads team in home runs (14), RBI (43) and runs scored (42).
Zac Zyons brings an 18-game on-base streak into the weekend. He has 11 multi-hit games over his last 15 and has chipped in 25 RBI and 27 runs scored.
Jared Burrows has been stellar out of the pen, posting a 1.86 ERA and a 4-3 record in 14 appearances. He has 12 walks and 15 strikeouts in 19.1 innings.
Zach Nichols leads the league with eight saves. He ranks fifth nationally.

Scouting the Panthers

Pitt enters the week 16-21 overall. The Panthers have picked up wins over No. 7 Duke and No. 6 Clemson in each of the last two weekends.
The Panthers are hitting .282 and have a team ERA of 6.19.
Dom Popa is hitting a team-best .331, while Luke Cantwell has nine home runs and 32 RBI.
Jayden Melendez leads the team with 11 home runs.

Players Mentioned