The Bryant baseball team saw its reign as Northeast Conference champions come to an end last season, but its quest to return to the top of the heap is being aided in large part by Warwick native Robby Rinn.

The senior first baseman is once again a key part of the Bulldog lineup, leading the team in several offensive categories, including batting average (.416), RBIs (22), doubles (10) and slugging percentage (.649).

This past weekend, as Bryant completed a four-game sweep of Central Connecticut to start NEC play, Rinn became the fourth player since the program’s promotion to Division I—and 17th in school history—to record his 200th career hit, which came in the first inning of last Friday’s 8-1 upending of the Blue Devils.

The former Moses Brown standout has already been named the Northeast Conference’s Player of the Week twice this season, picking up the award after sterling performances at the Tony Gwynn Classic in San Diego and in a series against George Mason earlier this month in which the Bulldogs took two of three from the Patriots.

Despite falling short against Sacred Heart in last season’s championship decider, the Bryant nine once again the hunted, being picked to win the NEC this spring by the conference’s coaches during their preseason conclave.

The Bulldogs have gone a long way in backing up that hype, racing out to a 14-4 start that was punctuated by a 7-4 triumph over 22nd-ranked Kentucky on February 28 that marked the first time that the squad has defeated a nationally-ranked opponent in the regular season.

After starting the season on the road, some much-awaited home cooking awaits for Rinn and his teammates, starting this Wednesday with a non-conference tilt against Hartford before returning to conference play on April 1 with the start of a four-game series versus Long Island.

McCusker, Cobras off to hot start

After turning heads in 2015 with is first-ever winning season, the women’s lacrosse program at Coker College is looking to continue the momentum in 2016 with the help of Pilgrim graduate Haley McCusker.

The former Patriot is building upon a freshman campaign that saw her score 32 goals and dish out 11 assists for the Cobras, who advanced to the semifinals of the South Atlantic Conference tournament before bowing out to Lenoir-Rhyne.

McCusker is making sure that the sophomore jinx is not happening under her watch by having notched 14 goals so far, five of which on March 10 in Coker’s 17-10 win over Lees-McRae.

The Cobras are currently 4-2, most recently picking up their first win in conference play by edging Newberry 7-6 last Wednesday courtesy of McCusker’s go-ahead goal on a free position shot early in the second half.

Coker returns to SAC action this Saturday against Wingate, but not before kicking off a three-game home stand with a non-league clash with Merrimack on Tuesday.