SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant baseball team opens the 2025 season this weekend with a three-game series at Davidson. Opening Day is set for Friday at 5:30 p.m.

Bryant is coming off a 36-21 season that ended with America East regular season and tournament titles and an appearance in the NCAA Regionals. Head coach Ryan Klosterman begins his sixth season with the program.     

The Particulars
Opponent: Davidson
Location: Davidson, N.C. (Wilson Field)
Date and Time: Friday, Feb. 14 - 5:30 PM | Saturday, Feb. 15 - 1:30 PM | Sunday, Feb. 16 - 1:00 PM
Live Stats: Sidearm
Video: ESPN+ (Friday Only)
Game Notes: Bryant
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Probable Starting Pitchers 

Friday - Luke Delongchamp vs Wilson Perkins
Saturday - Michael Belcher vs Isaac Fix
Sunday - Clay Robbins vs Cooper Cavanaugh

• Luke Delongchamp will make his first Opening Day start on Friday. The senior is coming off an impressive first season with the Black and Gold in which he went 5-2 with a league-leading 2.76 ERA in 14 starts. 
• Michael Belcher will get the ball on Saturday and make his collegiate debut for the Bulldogs. He will be the first true freshman to start on Opening Weekend since Steve Theetge in 2016. Theetge would go on to win a program-record 32 games in four seasons with the Black and Gold. Belcher comes to Smithfield after he capped a historic high school career at Woodland Regional (Conn.) with a no-hitter in the state championship game.
• Clay Robbins is set to make his Bryant debut as the game three starter. Robbins is a transfer from Southern Maine (D3) where he went 11-11 with a 4.35 ERA in 31 appearances (27 starts).
• Davidson, on the other hand, returns two of its three weekend starters. Wilson Perkins will start on Friday's for the second straight year after going 6-4 with 76 strikeouts in 84.2 innings. 
• Isaac Fix will move to the rotation on Saturday after serving a flex role in 2024. He posted a 5.96 ERA and 55 strikeouts over 19 appearances (eight starts).
• Cooper Cavanaugh was an all-rookie selection last spring after striking out 59 in 52.2 innings.

Bryant vs. Davidson

• Bryant and Davidson are meeting for the third time in four seasons. The Bulldogs and Wildcats played weekend series in both 2022 and 2023. 
• Davidson swept the series in 2022, outscoring the Bulldogs 20-2 and posting a pair of shutouts. 
• Bryant returned the favor in 2023, sweeping the three-game set and outscoring the Wildcats 32-11. The Bulldogs completed the sweep with a 15-5, 11-1 doubleheader sweep.
• The Black and Gold's series sweep of Davidson in 2023 marked the program's first-ever series sweep of an Atlantic-10 program. 

Bulldog Notes and Notables

• Bryant is coming off a 36-win campaign that ended with the program's fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament in DI program history.
• The Bulldogs were picked to repeat by a vote of the league's coaches. Bryant also landed five players on the preseason All-America East team.
• Bryant lost several key pieces to the 2024 championship team including Carmine Petosa, Chris Einemann, Jackson Phinney and Austin Wainer.
• The Bulldogs, however, return reigning America East Player of the Year Gavin Noriega. Back for his graduate year, Noriega hit a program record 18 home runs last spring, finishing with 58 RBI and 59 runs scored.
• Zac Zyons also returns after winning the 2024 America East batting title with a .369 average. He also led the league in OBP (.473) and brings a 37-game on-base streak into the 2025 season.
• Justin Hackett and Shea Grady also return to the infield after starting 30+ games a season ago. Both were also named to the America East preseason team.
• Gavin Greger returns as Bryant's everyday center fielder after earning all-rookie honors a season ago. He hit .252 with 12 doubles and 14 stolen bases.
• Brandyn Durand is back behind the plate for the Bulldogs after hitting 11 home runs in his first season. He was also a perfect 12-for-12 in stolen bases.
• Bryant's pitching staff returns several key arms and will debut a bevvy of new arms this weekend at Davidson. The Bulldogs added five transfers and five freshmen to the staff.   

Scouting the Wildcats

• Davidson finished 24-28 in 2024 and missed out on the conference tournament by one game.
• The Wildcats hit 75 home runs a season ago, led by returning First Team All-A-10 first baseman Eli Putnam (16 2B, 16 HR, 58 RBI).
• In all, the Wildcats return their top four hitters and two of its three weekend starters. Wilson Perkins leads the pitching returners after going 6-4 with a 5.31 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 84.2 innings last spring.