America East Baseball News & Notes: Bulldogs, Retrievers, and Highlanders Finding Their Stride

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As we move into the first full month of the college baseball season, the outlook is brightening in the America East Conference. This past weekend marked the league’s most successful stretch of the early season, with three teams—Bryant, UMBC, and NJIT—all securing crucial non-conference series victories.

Here is a recap of a strong week for the conference.

Bryant Bulldogs (4–5): Speed and Power in Radford

The Bryant Bulldogs are off to a promising start after traveling to Radford, Virginia, to take on the Highlanders. For the second time this young season, Bryant won a road series, marking the first time since 2019 that the Bulldogs have claimed two of their first three series.

On the Basepaths: Speed was the story on Sunday as Bryant swiped six bases. They have now recorded 26 stolen bases through their first nine games.
The Bats: Bryant’s offense exploded for 27 runs on 28 hits across their two wins.
Player of the Week: Junior Casey Wensley earned America East Player of the Week honors after a blistering weekend. Wensley went 8-for-15 (.533) with two triples, a double, five RBIs, and six runs scored. He recorded multiple hits in all three games, including a career-high four hits on Sunday.

Up Next: The Bulldogs travel to face Rutgers this weekend.

UMBC Retrievers (3–4): Late-Inning Magic

The UMBC Retrievers have turned their season around, winning three of their last four contests. After a midweek win at Georgetown, the Retrievers returned to Baltimore to take two of three from Monmouth.

Saturday Sweep: UMBC swept a Saturday doubleheader with two dramatic comebacks. In Game 1, trailing 3–2 in the seventh, the Retrievers scored twice on a costly error and a wild pitch to win 4–3. In Game 2, down 9–5 in the eighth, they erupted for five runs—highlighted by a Danny Wyatt two-run homer and clutch hits from Derek Paris and Kyle Eddington—to win 10–9.
Pitcher of the Week: Freshman Kailen Hackmann took home AE Pitcher of the Week honors. In the 10–9 comeback win, Hackmann provided three innings of hitless relief, striking out eight of the eleven batters he faced to keep the Retrievers in striking distance.

Up Next: UMBC heads to Philadelphia to take on Penn.

NJIT Highlanders (3–5): Dominant Doubleheader

NJIT took both ends of a doubleheader against Iona last Saturday in Teaneck, NJ, showcasing a balanced attack of opportunistic hitting and stifling pitching.

Game 1 (8–0): The Highlanders capitalized on six Iona errors and five stolen bases. Tate Jones earned the win in relief, contributing to a combined 7-hit shutout alongside Josh Willitts and Tade Riordan.
Game 2 (10–2): Jack Stead set the tone with a two-run home run in the third inning. Mark Scamardella (1–1) earned the win, striking out six over 4.1 innings of three-hit ball.

Up Next: The Highlanders host St. Peter’s for a weekend set.

Rookie of the Week: Rex Hauser (Maine)

Despite the Maine Black Bears (2–10) suffering a tough sweep at Winthrop, freshman DH Rex Hauser provided a massive silver lining. In Sunday’s finale, Hauser went 3-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs. The performance marked his first collegiate hits and earned him AE Rookie of the Week honors.

Up Next: Maine looks to snap a seven-game skid this weekend at Dayton.

Next week, we’ll have more updates as America East teams continue their final non-conference tune-ups before league play begins.