WALTHAM, Mass. – After a 16-10 regular season, the third-seeded Bentley University Falcons will welcome Saint Anselm College, the number six seed, to DeFelice Field when the 2021 Northeast-10 Conference Baseball Championships get underway Tuesday with first-round action. First pitch is scheduled for 2 pm.

It will be the first of six first-round games scheduled for the day with the other two in the conference's Northeast Division including Franklin Pierce at home against St. Michael's and fifth-seeded Assumption visiting fourth-seeded Stonehill.

The divisional semis are Thursday with the Bentley-Saint Anselm winner paired against the Franklin Pierce-St. Michael's survivor. The divisional finals, which will be a best of three series, will get underway with a doubleheader on Sunday.

Bentley (15-9 NE10) and Saint Anselm (10-18, 5-16 NE10) faced each other four times during the second weekend of the season with the Falcons taking the series 3-1. Bentley's three wins came by scores of 11-9, 10-7 and 9-4, and the Hawks picked up a 3-2 victory in the second game.

Coach Bob DeFelice's Falcons have been led by a pair of graduate students this season, first baseman Ryan Berardino (Sudbury/Lincoln-Sudbury Reg. HS) and pitcher Paul Frisoii (Watertown/ Arlington Catholic HS). Berardino, two runs scored away from 100 for his career, is third in Division II in batting with a .477 average. He leads the team in RBI (27) and is fourth nationally in toughest to strike out.

Frisoli, who pitched nine shutout innings at nationally-ranked Southern New Hampshire April 25 in his most recent appearance, is expected to get the ball from DeFelice, the dean of college baseball coaches nationally, for the playoff opener. He is 2-0 with a 2.38 ERA, and has given up only nine hits and four runs in his last 24 innings of work.

Berardino is one of three .300 hitters in the lineup for the Falcons. Junior left fielder Liam Sears (Springfield/Pope Francis HS) is batting .359 with 20 RBI and sophomore third baseman Steve Rizzuto (Belmont/Belmont HS) owns a .311 average, 24 RBI and 26 runs scored.

Sears, Berardino and freshman second baseman Jackson Walonis (Walpole/Walpole HS) were Bentley's leading hitters against Saint Anselm in last month's series. Sears was 7-for-13 with five RBI, Berardino was 8-for-17 and Walonis was 7-for-16 with six RBI.

Saint Anselm has hit 39 home runs this spring, including 10 by junior first baseman Kyle Maurice, a .284 hitter with 33 RBI. Junior outfielder Mike Pierro is having an outstanding season at the plate, batting .403 with a .470 on base percentage.

The top starters for the Hawks are senior Ryan Schworer (2-1, 4.71, 43 SO in 36.1 innings), senior Will Conaton (1-2, 5.02, 49 SO in 37.2 innings) and sophomore Dylan Bedder (2-5, 5.29, 54 SO in 32.1 innings). Conaton last pitched on May 1, Schworer on May 2 and Bedder on May 8. Schworer earned the win over Bentley on April 3, with six innings of work. He allowed five hits and two unearned runs while striking out ten.

2021 NORTHEAST-10 CHAMPIONSHIPS 

Tuesday, May 11   (Single Elimination)
Divisional First Round Games - Northeast­
Game 1NE: #5NE Stonehill at #4NE Assumption, TBD
Game 2NE: #6NE Saint Anselm at #3NE Bentley, 2 pm
Game 3NE: #7NE Saint Michael's at #2NE Franklin Pierce, 6 pm
 
Divisional First Round Games - Southwest
Game 1SW: #5SW SCSU at #4SW  AIC, 1 pm
Game 2SW: #6SW Pace at #3SW New Haven, 3 pm
Game 3SW: #7SW Saint Rose at #2SW Le Moyne, 1 pm
 
Thursday, May 13   (Single Elimination)
Divisional Semifinals – Northeast
Game 4NE: Game 1NE Winner at #1NE SNHU, 4 pm
Game 5NE: Game 2NE Winner vs Game 3NE Winner (at highest remaining seed)
 
Divisional Semifinals – Southwest
Game 4SW: Game 1SW Winner at #1SW Adelphi, 3:30 pm
Game 5SW: Game 2SW Winner vs. Game 3SW Winner (at highest remaining seed)
 
Sunday-Monday, May 16^th-17
Divisional Finals (Best of three series) – Northeast
Sunday: Games 6NE & 7NE: Game 4NE Winner vs. Game 5NE Winner (at highest remaining seed)
Monday: Game 8NE (if necessary)
 
Divisional Finals (Best of three series) – Southwest
Sunday: Games 6SW & 7 SW: Game 4SW Winner vs. Game 5SW Winner (at highest remaining seed)
Monday: Game 8SW (if necessary)
 
Friday-Saturday May 21-22  
Championship Final (Best of three series)
Friday: Games 1 & 2: NE Divisional Winner vs. SW Divisional Winner (at highest remaining seed)
Saturday: Game 3 (if necessary)