SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant baseball team opens America East play this weekend as it welcomes defending tournament champion Binghamton to Conaty Park for a three-game series. Game one of the series is set for Friday at 12:00 p.m.

This weekend's series was originally scheduled to be played at Binghamton but has been shifted due to a more favorable weather forecast in Smithfield. The April series between the two teams will now be played in Vestal.

*Start times for all three games this weekend are subject to change based off of weather. Follow @_BryantBaseball on X for updates*

The Particulars
Opponent: Binghamton
Location: Conaty Park (Smithfield, R.I.)
Date and Time: Friday, Mar. 13 - 12:00 PM | Saturday, Mar. 14 - 1:00 PM | Sunday, Mar. 15 - 1:00 PM
Live Stats: Sidearm
Video: AE.tv
Game Notes: Bryant
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Probable Starting Pitchers 

Friday - Kaden Hilburger vs Conner Griffin
Saturday -  Dylan Scudder vs Brady Bouchard
Sunday -  Jackson Vanesko vs Hayden Tarsia

• Kaden Hilburger will make his fifth start of the year on Friday and is 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA in 11.2 innings. He has allowed 15 hits, walked four and struck out 11. Hilburger has worked at least three innings in three of his four starts.
• Dylan Scudder enters conference play with a 8.78 ERA in four starts. He has allowed 19 hits, walked six and struck out seven in 13.1 innings. Scudder's best outing came at Radford two weeks ago (5.0 IP, 0R).
• Jackson Vanesko has posted a 8.49 ERA in 11.2 innings this season. He'll look to regain his form in conference play after posting a 4-0 record and a 1.93 ERA in 18.2 innings vs conference foes last season. He alllowed just 13 hits in 18.2 innings. 
• Conner Griffin moved to Friday night last week and enters with a 6.91 ERA in four starts. He has allowed 11 hits, walked 16 and struck out 17 in 14.1 innings. Griffin has hit 100MPH with his fastball and has struck out five in each of his last two outings.
• Bouchard is 0-2 with a 7.47 ERA in 15.2 innings this season. He has allowed 25 hits. Bouchard has not walked in his last two outings. Last season, he allowed three runs in 4.0 innings of relief against the Bulldogs.
• Tarsia started the season as the Friday starter before shifting to Sunday last weekend at Richmond. He responded with 5.0 innings of one-run ball in his best outing of the year. He is 1-1 with a 11.40 ERA in 15.0 innings. Tarsia started two games vs Bryant last season, tossing 6.0 scoreless in the regular season. In the postseason, he allowed seven runs on eight hits in 4.2 innings.

Bryant vs. Binghamton

• Bryant owns a 10-4 lead in the all-time series with Binghamton. The series dates back to 2023, Bryant's first in the America East.
• The Bulldogs and Bearcats met in the 2025 America East Championship, with Binghamton earning a 6-5 victory in 11 innings to win the title.
• Bryant had forced the "if necessary" game with a 7-3 victory earlier in the day.
• The Black and Gold have won three of the four regular season series with the Bearcats and are 5-1 at Conaty Park.

Bulldog Notes and Notables

• Bryant enters the weekend at 6-7 overall following a midweek victory over Stonehill in its home opener.
• The Black and Gold also own series wins over Davidson and Radford, and a victory over Big Ten member Rutgers.
• Bryant is hitting .243 and averages 6.4 runs per game on the year. The Bulldogs have stolen 40 bases, ranking 8th nationally in steals per game.
• Casey Wensley leads Bryant with 18 hits and also has three triples, 13 RBI, 15 runs scored and eight stolen bases.
• Carlos Irizarry has come on of late, going 11-for-30 with six RBI and six runs scored at second base.
• Charlie Saul leads Bryant in home runs (3) and RBI (15). Saul hit .348 with a 1.052 OPS in America East play last season.
• Bryant's bullpen has been solid with Aidan Vining (1-0, 1SV, 11.0 IP, 3H, 2BB, 11SO), Sean Zaslaw (1-0, 2.61 ERA, 10.1IP, 8H) and Owen Birchard (6.1 IP, 13SO) leading the way.

Scouting the Bearcats

• Binghamton enters the weekend at 5-8 overall following a midweek win over St. Bonaventure.
• The Bearcats have played weekend series at Dallas Baptist, William & Mary, High Point and Richmond.
• Binghamton is hitting just .213 with 10 home runs and nine stolen bases on the year. On the mound, Binghamton owns a 7.11 ERA and has struck out 104 batters in 105.0 innings.
• Heavy preseason player of the year favorite Matt Bolton is hitting .300 with six RBI, 10 runs scored and six stolen bases.
• Steven Kraus has three home runs and 10 RBI, while Grant Hunter has a team-best four long balls.
• Jackson Mitchell has been lights out in the bullpen, having not allowed an earned run in 12.2 innings. He has walked two and struck out 17.
• Ryan Bates is back in the mix with a 2.25 ERA in five appearances, while Jake Dally has 12 strikeouts in 8.1 innings out of the pen.