Bulldogs claim NEC title, reach NCAA tournament
Monday, May 27, 2013
A first-ever conference championship is in the bag. Now, could the College World Series also be on the horizon?
Sophomore right-hander Kevin McAvoy threw a complete game shutout to lead the Bryant baseball team to an 8-0 victory over Sacred Heart and its first ever Northeast Conference championship Sunday in Lakewood, NJ.
The Bulldogs (44-16-1) won four-straight elimination games to claim their first NEC championship, by defeating the two-time defending NEC champion Pioneers. With the win, Bryant earned the NEC's automatic bid to the NCAA baseball championship tournament...and will open play Friday in the Manhattan, KS regional as the #3 seed. The Bulldogs will face 2nd seeded Arkansas at 8:00 pm (televised on ESPN3), while top-seeded Kansas State will face #4 Wichita State. The winner in the double-elimination tournament moves into Super Regional play against the Corvallis, OR regional winner for the right to move onto the College World Series in Omaha, NE.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe 44 wins by Bryant is a school record for victories in a single season. In Kansas, the Bulldogs will face the top pitching team in the country in the Arkansas Razorbacks, who own a national-best 1.87 team ERA. Bryant is also in the top 10 in earned run average in the country, as it brings a 2.63 ERA into it's first-ever NCAA tournament.
There will be another Rhode Island presence in the NCAA baseball tournament as well, as junior shortstop Tom Verdi (Warwick, RI) will make his second trip to the NCAA's as a UConn Husky. UConn won the Big East Championship last week in Florida in stunning fashion as the No. 8 (and final) seed. The Huskies won four straight games against teams they had a cumulative 1-11 record against during the regular season. UConn will play in the Blacksburg, VA regional as a 4th seed and faces top-seeded Virginia Tech Friday at 5:30 pm, also on ESPN3.
Verdi has started 57 of 60 games this years and is batting .260 with seven doubles, two homers and 21 RBI. He was named to the all-Big East Tournament team and was three for five with two RBI and a run scored in the championship against Notre Dame.
