America East Baseball News & Notes: Conference Play Begins as the Calendar Turns

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As we reach the middle of March, college baseball is turning a page. Conference play is now officially part of the landscape. While only one America East series took place last week, there was plenty of good news for the league as both UMass Lowell and UMBC enjoyed winning weeks. With a full slate of league games scheduled for this week, baseball enters its second phase of the spring.

Bryant Takes Opening Series from Binghamton

Bryant (10-8, 2-1) and Binghamton (6-10, 1-2) kicked off the league schedule in Smithfield last Friday. The Bulldogs took the series, winning two of three, despite the Bearcats stealing the opener in extra innings.

Binghamton’s 4-3 win in 10 innings came courtesy of back-to-back doubles by Steve Krauss and pinch-hitter Sean Sweeney. Reliever Jackson Mitchell then retired the Bulldogs in order in the bottom of the 10th to seal the game.

Bryant bounced back to take the final two games. On Saturday, a massive three-run home run from Jacob Gaudreau in the fourth inning erased an early Binghamton lead. Out of the Bulldogs’ bullpen, Aidan Vining entered in the fifth with the bases loaded and escaped unscathed. He went on to throw 4.1 scoreless innings to move to 2-0 on the year.

Sunday saw another Bryant comeback. Trailing 4-1 early, the Bulldogs exploded for seven runs to take the rubber match 8-4. Casey Wensley reached base five times (three hits, two walks), while Mike Fiatarone added two doubles and two RBIs. The pitching trio of Justin Dressler, Thomas Galusha, and Tommy Flaherty combined for seven innings of three-hit, shutout relief, with Dressler (1-0) earning the win.

Bryant is now 12-5 all-time against the Bearcats and has won their last four series meetings. Their bullpen was the story of the weekend; in 17.1 innings, the unit allowed just two earned runs while striking out 20. The Bulldogs extended their winning streak to four with mid-week wins over Holy Cross and Dartmouth and will face Sacred Heart in a non-league series this weekend.

River Hawks Shine on the West Coast

The UMass Lowell River Hawks (7-9) wrapped up a successful West Coast road trip with a 6-3 record. After taking two from San Francisco and one from Sacramento State, they finished the swing with a three-game sweep of Pepperdine University.

Two River Hawks earned America East weekly honors for their efforts:

Pitcher of the Week: Sophomore RHP Nolan Geisler threw eight scoreless innings over three appearances, allowing just two hits and one walk while facing 24 batters. He currently sports a 1.10 WHIP over 13.2 innings this season.
Rookie of the Week: Freshman OF Cal Chance went 9-for-24 (.375) over a five-game stretch with three RBIs. In last Friday’s win at Pepperdine, Chance tied a River Hawks Division I record with a five-hit game. He is currently hitting .373 with an .880 OPS.

Though the River Hawks stumbled in a 12-2 mid-week loss to Boston College, they look to carry their road momentum into a conference series at Binghamton this weekend.

UMBC Defying Preseason Expectations

Picked to finish last in the preseason coaches’ poll, UMBC (7-8) finds itself just one game under .500 after 15 games. The Retrievers traveled to Boca Raton last weekend for a gritty series against Florida Atlantic. While they lost two of three, both losses came in heartbreaking, walk-off fashion.

On Friday, the bullpen struggled to hold late leads. Up 6-4 in the ninth, UMBC allowed FAU to tie it, and despite scoring three runs in the top of the 11th to take a 9-6 lead, they surrendered four in the bottom half to lose 10-9.

The Retrievers roared back on Saturday with a 14-3 win, fueled by a 13-run outburst over the final three innings. Kyle Eddington had three hits, Danny Wyatt drove in four, and starter Zach Robinson went seven strong innings with six strikeouts. Sunday was another defensive struggle, as the bullpen gave up a late lead in a 4-3 extra-inning loss despite UMBC out-hitting FAU 12-7.

The silver lining was senior OF Ehi Okojie, who was named AE Player of the Week. Okojie was unstoppable, slashing .400/.750/1.250 with a home run, 10 RBIs, and four doubles in 20 at-bats. UMBC returns to action this weekend with a home series against Maine.