WALTHAM, Mass. – For the second straight year, the Bentley University Falcons will be paired against Southern New Hampshire University for the opening round of the Northeast-10 Conference Baseball Championships. However, unlike last year when the Falcons were at home, Wednesday's game will be played at SNHU, with the first pitch scheduled for 3 pm (a change from the previously announced 6 pm).

Bentley, the Northeast Division's fourth seed, will make the trip to Manchester, N.H. with a 22-17 overall record after a rough final week of the regular season that included three one-run losses. Southern New Hampshire, 35-12 overall and the top seed out of the Northeast, is 3-0 in May after dropping five of nine to finish April.

The two clubs played a three-game series in late March at Bentley's DeFelice Field with the Falcons taking two of three. The Penmen prevailed in the opener, 6-3, and the Falcons grabbed the Saturday doubleheader, 3-1 and 2-1.

In last year's first round meeting, Bentley rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth, the winning run scoring on a walk-off single by Nate Witkowski (Melrose/Malden Catholic HS), for a 3-2 victory and a trip to the second round.

Defense has been a forte of the 2014 Falcons, who currently rank fourth in Division II in fielding with only 36 errors in 39 games and will set a school record for fielding percentage for the third consecutive season.

Junior lefty Ryan O'Connor (Newburyport/Newburyport HS) is expected to receive the ball from coach Bob DeFelice for the game. He leads the team in ERA (2.08), strikeouts (54, 8.0 per nine innings) and opponents' batting average. O'Connor's record stands at 5-4 and his three shutouts include a no-hitter against Saint Anselm Apr. 19.

O'Connor pitched against SNHU on March 29, earning a 3-1 win after striking out nine and allowing seven hits in seven innings.

Southern New Hampshire should have most of its pitching staff available with Tim Viehoff (4-2, 1.27 ERA the only one who has pitched significant innings in the last week. Options include senior righty Derrick Sylvester (7-2, 2.81 ERA), freshman lefty Mike Robert (5-2, 1.00), junior righty Cole Warren (2-3, 3.86) and sophomore righty Joe McCarthy (5-1, 4.01). With the exception of McCarthy, each averages about a strikeout an inning, or more. Out of the pen, freshman righty Ben Criscuolo has been outstanding with 12 saves, a 5-0 record, a 0.59 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 30.2 innings.

Bentley's offense features senior left fielder Sean Keady (Norwood/Norwood HS) and senior shortstop Will Brennan (Locust Valley, N.Y./Locust Valley HS). Keady, fourth in program history in hits and the all-time leader in stolen bases, is hitting .329 out of the leadoff spot with 32 runs and 16 RBI. Brennan has 31 hits in the last 20 games, a hot stretch that has boosted his average to .312.

Senior right fielder Tom Nagy (Fairfield, Conn./Ludlowe HS) has hit .341 over the last 20 games and he leads the team in slugging (.497), RBI (29), triples (6, tying the school record) and home runs (5).

Southern New Hampshire senior outfielder and lead-off hitter Brendan Oliver leads the Penmen in hits (62) and runs (40), and the .310 hitter is a perfect 46-of-46 in stolen base attempts. Junior first baseman Alejandro Diaz has a team-best 336 average and senior Riley Palmer provides the power with eight homers and 34 RBI.

Live video and stats will be provided for the game, with links available at www.bentleyfalcons.com.

In the other first-round games, Franklin Pierce is hosting Stonehill, Adelphi is at Southern Connecticut, and New Haven is at home against Le Moyne. The four winners will play a double-elimination tournament at the highest surviving seed out of the Northeast Division, beginning Friday.

Northeast Division
1. Southern New Hampshire (15-6)
2. Franklin Pierce (15-6)
3. Stonehill (13-8)
4. Bentley (13-8)

Southwest Division
1. Southern Connecticut (13-5)
2. New Haven (12-6)
3. Le Moyne (10-8)
4. Adelphi (9-9)

First Round – Wednesday, May 7 (at higher seeds)
Game 1: #4 SW Adelphi at #1 SW Southern Connecticut – 3:30 p.m.
Game 2: #3 Le Moyne at #2 New Haven – 2:00 p.m.
Game 3: #4 NE Bentley at #1 NE Southern New Hampshire – 3:00 p.m.
Game 4: #3 Stonehill at #2 NE Franklin Pierce – 4:00 p.m.

Championship Weekend – Friday-Sunday, May 9-11
(Hosted by highest remaining Northeast Division seed)
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 4 winner
Game 6: Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 winner
Game 7: Game 5 loser vs. Game 6 loser
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner
Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 loser
Game 10: Game 9 winner vs. Game 8 winner
Game 11: If Necessary