SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant baseball team welcomes Maine to Conaty Park this weekend for a key America East series. First pitch on Friday is set for 3:00 p.m., with Saturday and Sunday scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

Bryant (10-5 in America East) and Maine (12-6) are separated by a half game at the top of the league standings with just three weekends remaining. The Bulldogs are the defending America East Regular Season and Tournament Champions, while Maine claimed both crowns in 2023. 

The Particulars
Opponent: Maine
Location: Conaty Park (Smithfield, R.I.)
Date and Time: Friday, May 2 - 3:00 PM | Saturday, May 3 - 1:00 PM | Sunday, May 4 - 1:00 PM
Live Stats: Sidearm
Video: AmericaEast.tv
Game Notes: Bryant
Social Media: Facebook | X | Instagram | #AEBASE  

Probable Starting Pitchers

Friday - Michael Belcher vs Colin Fitzgerald
Saturday - Clay Robbins vs Caleb Leys
Sunday - Luke Delongchamp vs Gianni Gambardella

• Michael Belcher will headline the Bryant weekend rotation for the fourth-straight week. The right hander is 2-0 with a 4.93 ERA in 45.2 innings this year. He has walked 15 and struck out 42.
• In America East play, Belcher is 1-0 with a 5.92 ERA. Belcher has walked 11 and struck out 17 in 24.1 innings.
• His last three starts have been met with mixed results. He allowed five runs over 4.2 innings at Binghamton before tossing a seven-inning complete game vs UMass Lowell. Last weekend, he cruised through four scoreless before being touched for four runs in the fifth at UAlbany. 
• Robbins has been consistent for the Black and Gold over his last four league starts. He has allowed one run or less in three of those four outings but has lasted 5.0 innings just once in that span. Robbins surrendered one run on two hits and matched his season high with six strikeouts last week at UAlbany. He is 1-0 with a 4.89 ERA, 14 walks and 37 strikeouts in 38.2 innings.
• Delongchamp has pitched well over the last three weekends but the numbers sometimes don't showcase that. He allowed four runs over 5.0 innings at Binghamton, surrendered four runs (one earned) over 4.0 vs UMass Lowell and struck out five and allowed one run over 2.2 innings at UAlbany. Delonghcamp is 0-4 with a 5.46 ERA in 31.1 innings.
• Last season vs Maine, Delongchamp made two starts and allowed six runs on 13 hits over 9.0 innings. He tossed 4.0 innings of one-run ball at Conaty Park before allowing five runs on eight hits over 5.0 innings in Orono.
• Maine, on the other hand, features the best pitching rotation in the America East. In fact, all three were hurt at some point last season but are back healthy and have pitched Maine to the top of the league standings. 
• Colin Fitzgerald pitches Friday and missed all of last season with injury. In 2023, he was a First Team All-America East pitcher after going 6-2 with a 5.23 ERA. This season, Fitzgerald is 5-4 with a 5.40 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 70.0 innings. He has, however, allowed six runs or more in three of his last four league starts, including a combined 15 runs over his last 10.0 innings. Fitzgerald has struck out 18 in that stretch though. Against Bryant, Fitzgerald allowed three runs on four hits, walked six and struck out four in 2023.
• Caleb Leys also missed last season with injury and has returned to become the premier ace in the league. He leads the league in overall ERA at 2.21 and league ERA at 0.51. Leys has allowed just two earned runs in 35.0 innings of league play, walking 13 and posting 45 strikeout. He has worked at least 7.0 innings in four of his six starts and is coming off a complete-game (7 innings) shutout of NJIT. Two years ago against Bryant, Leys struck out eight over 5.0 scoreless against the Bulldogs. 
• Gian Gambardella will pitch Sunday and is 5-2 with a 5.04 ERA in 44.2 innings. He walked 18 and struck out 40. Gambardella has pitched at least 5.0 innings in five of his six league starts and is coming off a season-high 10 strikeouts vs NJIT. Last season, Gambardella allowed four runs (one earned) on three hits over 6.2 innings vs Bryant. He walked four and struck out seven. He struck out six over 4.0 innings of one-run ball in 2023.

Bryant vs. Maine

• Bryant owns a 7-6 all-time record vs Maine. The Black Bears are 5-4 in nine America East meetings.
• Last season, the Black and Gold went 4-2. Bryant swept a doubleheader with a pair of 5-4 victories before losing the series finale 1-0 at Conaty Park.
• Bryant then won two-of-three in Orono, clinching the regular season title with a 15-8 victory in game two of the series. 
• The Black Bears swept the series in 2023, clinching the regular season title with their victories. 

• Bryant picked up its second America East sweep of the season as it took all three games at UAlbany last weekend. The Bulldogs won 7-4 on Friday and then swept a Sunday doubleheader, 5-3 and 17-4.
• In game one, Bryant built a 4-0 lead before UAlbany tied the game. Pat D'Amico broke the tie with a three-run home run in the top of the eighth.
• On Sunday, a two-out throwing error in the top of the seventh inning allowed three runs to score and breake a 1-1 tie.
• Bryant closed out the sweep with six home runs in a 17-4 victory. Zac Zyons homered twice and drove in five runs.
• Zyons went 5-for-12 with a double and three home runs in the series. He drove in seven and scored five times.

Bulldog Notes and Notables

• Bryant is 23-16-1 overall and 10-5 in America East play entering the weekend. The Bulldogs have won 12-of-13 overall and 8-of-9 in league play.
• Bryant is hitting .297 with a 5.30 ERA in league play. The Bulldogs are second in the league with 25 home runs. 
• Drew Wyers has reached safely in 22-straight games and enters the weekend ranked first in the AE in average (.407), second in slugging (.692), first in OBP (.516) and first in OPS (1.208). In league play, Wyers is hitting .471 with a 1.408 OPS, 21 RBI.
• Zac Zyons has homered four times in the last four games, including a leadoff home run on Wednesday at Stonehill. He now leads the team with nine and ranks third in the America East. Zyons has bumped his average to .292 and has an OPS of 1.015.
• Pat D'Amico now has seven home runs and 33 RBI on the year following a multi-homer weekend at UAlbany. He leads the league with a .885 slugging percentage and is second with a 1.354 OPS in league games.
• Gavin Noriega enters the weekend first in the league in RBI (42) and second in the league in doubles (14). 
• Noriega (18), Matt D'Amato (16), Zyons (16), D'Amico (14) and Gavin Greger (12) all have double-digit on-base streaks entering the week. Greger has hit safely in each of his last 12 games.
• Greger is hitting .359 with seven extra-base hits and 12 RBI.
• Kyle Rizy has pitched well in long relief in league play, going 5-0 with a 1.72 ERA in 15.2 innings. He has worked multiple innings in all six games in league play, including a career-high 4.1 scoreless at UAlbany last weekend.

Scouting the Black Bears

• Maine is 19-22 overall and 12-6 in America East play. The Black Bears took 2-of-3 from NJIT last weekend and earned a 5-4 win over Boston College on Wednesday.
• In league play, Maine leads the league in batting average (.330), ERA (3.80) and fielding percentage (.980).
• Evan Menzel is second in the league in hitting at .383, while Myles Sargent is batting .362 with 11 doubles, seven home runs and 40 RBI. He is hitting .452 with 29 RBI and a 1.268 OPS in league play.
• Payton Whitehead is second on the team with eight home runs, while Brody Rasmussen and Dean O'Neill each have six.
• Every starter in Maine's lineup, except Whitehead, is hitting .300 or better in league play.
• Sebastian Holt holds down the backend of the bullpen, posting a 0.91 ERA and four saves in six league appearances. 
• Tommy Martin is the reigning rookie of the week and has thrown 10.2 innings across seven appearances in league play. He threw 3.0 scoreless last weekend vs NJIT.