MOUNT ST. MARY'S (13-16, 6-6 NEC) vs. BRYANT (27-10, 7-1 NEC)
Friday, April 25, 3 pm | Saturday, April 26, 1 pm (DH) | Sunday, April 27, 1 pm
Emmitsburg, Md. | E.T. Straw Family Stadium
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MOUNT UPDATE: Mount St. Mary's lost at Towson, 6-3, on Wednesday after taking the final three games of its four-game Northeast Conference series at Sacred Heart this past weekend. It was the Mount's first Northeast Conference series win since taking three of four against Fairleigh Dickinson in 2011. After dropping the opener, 4-0, on Thursday, the Mount swept a twinbill on Friday (2-1, 6-2) before earning a 6-5 win in the final game on Saturday. The Mount pitching staff had a good series, tallying a 2.90 ERA in the four games while holding Sacred Heart to a .257 average. Kory Britton went 7-for-12 (.583) at the plate while Andrew Clow was 6-for-14 (.429) in the series.
ABOUT BRYANT: Bryant enters this weekend's series in first place in the Northeast Conference with a 27-10 overall record and a 7-1 mark in the NEC. The Bulldogs have won five in a row, and are 24-4 over their past 28 games. Carl Anderson leads Bryant with a .340 average while Matt Ablanese is hitting .333. Albanese and John Mullen are tied for the team lead with 27 RBIs while Tom Gavitt has a team-best four home runs. Vaughn Hayward leads a strong pitching staff with a 7-1 record and a 1.88 ERA in eight starts. Craig Schlitter is 6-1 with a 2.43 ERA in nine starts. Bryant has a team ERA of 3.15 on the season.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES: Bryant has won 14 in a row against the Mount and holds a 14-2 lead in the all-time series. The Mount swept a doubleheader on April 17, 2010, with Bryant taking both games of a twinbill the following day. The Bulldogs have swept the four-game series in each of the past three seasons. The Mountaineers are 2-6 all-time at home against Bryant.
LAST YEAR'S MATCHUP: Bryant swept the four-game series in the opening series of NEC play for both teams last year. The Bulldogs won 6-0 on Friday, swept the twinbill on Saturday by the scores of 7-3 and 5-2, and posted an 8-1 win on Sunday. Bryant's pitching staff held the Mount to a .186 average and six runs in the four-game series. Jay Knight went 6-for-16 (.375) at the plate to pace the Mount. Dan Muscatello and Kevin Brown each hit .455 for Bryant in the series.
CLOW NINTH IN THE NATION IN HITTING, : Mount St. Mary's catcher Andrew Clow leads the Northeast Conference and is ranked fifth in the nation with a .416 average. Clow is 21-for-43 (.488) over the past 12 games with 10 runs scored and 14 RBIs. He has a .698 slugging percentage and an OPS of 1.209 over that stretch. He has reached base in 12 consecutive games, and leads the Mount with 13 multiple hit games.
Top Five Hitters in NCAA Division I
1. Drew Weeks (North Florida), .452
2. Mike Alexander (Delaware State), .427
3. D.J. Miller (Delaware State, .426
4. Joey Epperson (UC Santa Barbara), .418
5. Andrew Clow (Mount St. Mary's), .416
BRITTON ON FIRE: Third baseman Kory Britton has caught fire at the plate for the Mountaineers. Britton is riding a 11-game hit streak, posting a .450 average (18-for-40) over that stretch. He has raised his season average to .337 and is second on the team in hits (35) and RBIs (20).
CLOSING TIME: Senior right-hander Nick Riley has appeared in 18 of the Mount's 29 games this season, tallying a 2-0 record with six saves and a 3.38 ERA. Riley has struck out 17 batters while allowing six walks in 26.2 innings of work. He has moved into third place on the Mount's all-time saves list with 11, while his six saves this season are tied for the third-best single-season mark in school history. Mike Matta (2007-10) holds the Mount's career record with 24 saves, while Bucky Kosyk had a single-season record 10 saves in 2006.
UP NEXT: Mount St. Mary's visits Penn State on Wednesday, April 30, at 6:30 p.m.
