SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant baseball team renews its rivalry with Sacred Heart this weekend as the two programs will play a three-game series starting on Friday at Conaty Park.

Friday and Saturday will be played in Smithfield, while Sunday's finale will be played at Veterans Park in Fairfield, Conn.

The Particulars
Opponent: Sacred Heart
Location: Conaty Park (Smithfield, R.I.) | Veterans Park (Fairfield, Conn.)
Date and Time: Friday, Mar. 20 - 3:00 PM | Saturday, Mar. 21 - 1:00 PM | Sunday, Mar. 22 - 1:00 PM
Live Stats: Sidearm (Friday and Saturday) | Sidearm (Sunday)
Video: Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Game Notes: Bryant
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Probable Starting Pitchers 

Friday - Kaden Hilburger vs Bryan Matuschat
Saturday -  Dylan Scudder vs Ryan Parker
Sunday -  Jackson Vanesko vs Anakin Underhill

• Kaden Hilburger will make his sixth start of the year on Friday and is 0-1 with a 6.32 ERA in 15.2 innings. He has allowed 17 hits, walked five and struck out 15. Hilburger has worked at least three innings in four of his five starts and is coming off a 4.0-inning start last week vs Binghamton. It matched his longest of the season.
• Dylan Scudder delivered a strong start last Saturday vs Binghamton, going 4.2 innings and allowed three runs on five hits. He struck out a season-high three batters in the game and has allowed three runs or less in two of his last three starts.
• Jackson Vanesko will look to bounce back on Sunday after allowing four runs on five hits in 2.0+ innings last week vs Binghamton. He has made it past the third in just one of his five starts this year and has walked 10 and struck out four in 13.2 innings.
• Bryan Matuschat has been a workhorse early on for the Pioneers, throwing at least 5.0 innings in four of his first five starts. He's pitching at least 6.0 innings on three occassions, including 6.0 innings of two-run ball last Friday vs Quinnipiac. Matuschat has seven walks, 14 strikeouts and has allowed six home runs in 27.2 innings.
• Ryan Parker gets the ball on Saturday's for Sacred Heart and enters this week 1-3 with a 6.75 ERA in 24.0 innings. He's allowed 31 hits, walked 15 and struck out 13 on the year. Parker has been good his last two outings, posting back-to-back quality starts vs Rider (6.0 IP, 6H, 3R, 1BB, 4SO) and Quinnpiac (6.0 IP, 5H, 3R, 5BB, 3SO).
• Anakin Underhill has been a mixed bag on Sunday's for the Pios, entering the weekend with a 22.95 ERA in 6.2 innings. He delivered 3.0 innings of one-run ball against Rider two weeks ago but was tagged for six runs on just two hits in 0.2 innings last Sunday against Quinnipiac.

Bryant vs. Sacred Heart

• Bryant and Sacred Heart quickly built a rivalry when the Bulldogs joined the Northeast Conference in 2009. 
• The Bulldogs and Pioneers met 51 times from 2009-2022, with the Bulldogs going 34-17. Bryant has won four non-conference meetings since to own a 38-17 lead in the all-time series.
• Bryant and SHU met in the 2013, 2014 and 2015 NEC Championship Round, with the Black and Gold winning in 2013 and 2014. 
• This marks the first weekend series between the two teams since 2022. Bryant is 8-1-3 in 12 all-time weekend series with the Pioneers. The Pios won their only series against Bryant in 2013, taking 3-of-4 in Bridgeport. 
• Last season, Bryant earned 10-4 and 7-6 midweek victories over Sacred Heart.

Bulldog Notes and Notables

• Bryant enters the weekend at 10-8 overall following midweek victories over Holy Cross and Dartmouth.
• The Black and Gold own series wins over Davidson, Radford and Binghamton on the year.
• Bryant is currently in the midst of an eight-game homestand in which it has gone 5-1. The Bulldogs are hitting .295 and averaging 7.6 runs per game during the homestand.
• On the year, Bryant has bumped its average up to .261 and currently ranks second nationally in triples per game, 61st in doubles per game and 15th in stolen bases per game.
• Casey Wensley leads Bryant with 25 hits and also has five doubles, three triples, 17 RBI, 21 runs scored and nine stolen bases. Wensley broke an 0-for-17 slump last Sunday vs Binghamton and is 7-for-10 with four doubles, four RBI and four runs scored over the last three games.
• Ellis Garcia is hitting .329 with a 1.021 OPS on the year. He leads Bryant with seven doubles and has an extra-base hit in six of his last seven games.
• Charlie Saul leads Bryant in home runs (3) and RBI (19). With a pair of doubles on Wednesday, Saul is now hitting .302 with an .897 OPS.
• Hunter Kingsbury returned from injury in the Binghamton series and has gone 7-for-21 with six RBI and four runs scored in the last five games.
• Bryant's bullpen has been solid with Aidan Vining (2-0, 1SV, 15.1 IP, 4H, 3BB, 16SO), Sean Zaslaw (1-0, 2.77 ERA, 13.0IP, 11H, 12SO), Owen Birchard (8.1 IP, 17SO), Tommy Flaherty (1.23ERA, 7.1IP, 7H, 3BB, 7SO) and Justin Dressler (2.45ERA, 7.1IP, 8H, 5BB, 6SO) leading the way.

Scouting the Pioneers

• Sacred Heart enters the weekend at 4-13 overall and 3-3 in the MAAC. The Pioneers dropped a series to Rider but earned a series win over Quinnipiac last weekend.
• The Pioneers are hitting .208 and own a 10.16 ERA. 
• Ronan Donahue paces the offense, hitting .295 with four doubles, three home runs, 11 RBI, 14 runs scored and eight stolen bases.
• Peter Link has homered twice and driven in 10.
• Mitch Hawkins has already made nine relief appearances for SHU, posting a 5.54 ERA, eight walks and seven strikeouts in 13.0 innings.