WALTHAM, Mass. – The historic 2024 Bentley baseball team begins its postseason at Franklin Pierce Tuesday, May 7, in the first round of the Northeast-10 Championship. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. Bentley is the #3 seed in the Northeast Division, and Franklin Pierce is #2.

29.

Bentley finished the regular season with a 29-18 overall record, marking the host wins in program history. The Falcons clinched their 29^th win in the regular-season finale at Saint Michael's (May 4). Bentley trailed 6-5 with two outs and nobody on in the ninth inning, but the Falcons miraculously rallied to make history. The 2009 and 2012 Bentley teams both won 28 games.

Strong finish

Steve Rizzuto earned the conference's final NE10 Player of the Week honor of the season, as announced Monday. In the final five games of the regular season, Rizzuto went 11-for-23 with two home runs and eight RBI. Bentley won four of those five games. Rizzuto's 56 RBI are tied for the most in the NE10 this season.

Perfect track record

Connor Gileau improved to 6-0 this season after earning the win out of the bullpen at Saint Rose (May 1). Among all NE10 pitchers with at least five decisions this spring, Gileau is the only one without a loss. He holds a 4.34 ERA through 15 appearances, all of which are out of the 'pen.

Above average

Bentley enters the postseason as the only NE10 team with a batting average over .300 (.305), and it is the only conference team with 50+ home runs (51). The team's .471 slugging percentage paces the conference. Cory Bright (.383) ranks third in the NE10 for hitting, and Steve Rizzuto (.362) ranks fifth. Bright is the only NE10 player with an on-base percentage over .500 (.518).

First things first

First baseman Eddy Beauregard finished the regular season with nine hits in his last 18 at-bats (.500). He belted three doubles and drove in five runs during that stretch. Overall, he enters the postseason with a .292 batting average and .894 OPS.

Battle between the birds

The Falcons and Ravens went head-to-head three times during the regular season, with Franklin Pierce winning twice (March 29-30). Four Falcons homered in the 13-11 win over the Ravens: Tim Zupkus, Eddy Beauregard, Brendan Sencaj, Tommy Bolton.

Scouting Franklin Pierce (25-16, 18-9 NE10)

The Ravens finished the regular season with three consecutive losses against Southern New Hampshire (May 3-4), but they had previously won nine out of 11 games. Ian Battipaglia's .408 batting average leads the NE10. Through 12 appearances (4 starts), Niklas Pavia's 1.47 ERA tops the NE10. Kyle Roche has a conference-high eight wins through 12 starts. The pitching staff's 4.80 ERA is the third-best mark in the NE10. The Ravens run with success, as they enter the postseason with 64 steals – and they've been caught only nine times.