HEAD COACH JAMIE PINZINO
THE PINZINO PAGES
TUFTS UNIVERSITY ’98
fourth year
COACHING EXPERIENCE
AS A HEAD COACH
2006-Present . . . . . . . . . Bryant University
2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . Assumption College
three seasons
96-78
.552 winning pct.
1 conference title
2 NCAA appearances
2 regional finals
AS AN ASSISTANT COACH
2003-04 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tufts University
2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Holy Cross
1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . Pomona-Pitzer College
he 2007 Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year, Bryant
University head coach Jamie Pinzino enters his fourth season
at the helm of the Bulldog baseball program. After three seasons at the Division II level, Bryant now has its sights set on Division I, which it will enter in 2009.
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Last season — the Bulldogs’ final in DII — Pinzino and his club set
the school record for wins, finishing with a 43-21 record and winning the NE-10 regular-season title. From there, Bryant earned a
bid into the NCAA Northeast regional, where the Bulldogs made
it to the finals for the second-straight season. Bryant leaves the Division II level ranked in a pair of final national polls, No. 25 in the
Ping!Baseball poll and No. 27 in the Collegiate Baseball poll.
Bryant opened eyes across the country early in the 2008 season,
recording key victories during its spring break trip, including wins
over top-ranked and eventual national champion Mount Olive
College (NC), snapping the Trojans’ 23-game win streak, and No.
6 West Chester (PA), who had won its first 16 games of the season. The Bulldogs went on to a 25-5 conference mark, winning 16
of their last 17 conference games, and clinched the league title
the last weekend of the season with a 3-0, 1-0 doubleheader
sweep of Pace on the road. The Bulldogs ended league play second in hitting (.303 BA), first in ERA (1.55) and first in defense
(.973 fielding pct.).
In the NCAA regionals, Bryant’s second-straight and sixth appearance overall, the second-seeded Bulldogs made a win-or-gohome run all the way to the finals after falling to Dowling in their
first contest. One loss away from elimination, the Bulldogs rattled
off wins over C.W. Post, Dowling and Caldwell, setting up a rematch of the 2007 regional final with Franklin Pierce. After a 1210 victory in Game 1, Franklin Pierce defeated Bryant in the
nightcap, ending the Bulldogs’ season one game shy of a World
Series berth.
But at the end of the year, Bryant also found themselves at the top
of several national statistical categories. The Bulldogs led the
country in fewest walks allowed (2.55/game) and sacrifice bunts
(78). They finished eighth in fielding percentage (.970) and sixth
in double plays (61), with several Bulldogs being honored with
postseason awards.
In the 2007 season, Pinzino and his club posted a 35-24 record
(21-9 in conference) in the coach’s second year at Bryant after
being picked to finish sixth overall in the NE-10. But Bryant upped
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its stock, finishing the season third on the conference ladder.
In the 2007 postseason, the Bulldogs upset top-seeded Franklin
Pierce and second-seeded UMass-Lowell en route to a secondplace finish in the conference tournament before continuing on
to the NCAA Northeast regional, where Bryant won three games
to grab another second-place finish and fall two wins shy of a trip
to the College World Series. After the season, the Bulldogs took
home their share of conference honors, with then-junior Eric Loh
(Third-Team All-American) being named NE-10 Pitcher of the Year,
then-frosh Jeff Vigurs earning Freshman of the Year honors and
Pinzino taking home NE-10 Coach of the Year accolades. The Bulldogs finished fifth in the country in ERA (2.79) and third in double plays (65).
In their first season together, 2006, Pinzino and the Bulldogs suffered through a rough start to the year, finishing with a 18-33
record. But despite the early struggles, they fought their way to a
fifth-place finish in the Northeast-10 Conference with a 16-14
league record.
After three season, Pinzino’s record at Bryant stands at 96-78
(.552), including a final 62-28 (.689) mark in the NE-10. The Bulldogs gathered 10 playoff victories with Pinzino at the helm, including seven in NCAA regional competition. In three seasons,
the Bulldogs have placed 19 players on all-conference teams, including four first-team nods.
Prior to arriving in Smithfield, R.I., Pinzino spent one season at
Assumption College, guiding the Greyhounds to an 11-28 record
and 10-18 mark in the Northeast-10. Pinzino was an assistant
under coach John Casey at his alma mater, Tufts, for the 2003
and 2004 seasons. Pinzino also held assistant coaching positions
at Holy Cross (2002), Pomona-Pitzer College (1998), Westboro
American Legion (1997-98) and St. John's High School (19992001), and was the head coach of the Northboro American Legion Program (1999-2004).
A four-year varsity member of the Tufts baseball team, Pinzino
helped lead the Jumbos to a berth as the No. 2 seed in the 1995
NCAA Division III Regional and was a member of three ECAC
Championship teams, in 1994, 1996 and 1997.
Pinzino graduated from Tufts University in Medford, Mass. in 1998
with a degree in history. While back at his alma mater during his
coaching days, he also earned a Masters Degree in Educational
Studies.
2009 Bryant University Baseball
2009 ASSISTANT COACHES
BRIAN MURPHY
Fourth season
Merrimack ’03
rian Murphy is in his fourth season as an assistant coach
at Bryant University. Murphy serves as the Bulldogs’ hitting
coach, works with the catchers, and is the program's recruiting coordinator. Murphy’s recruiting efforts have been instrumental in developing much of the current roster, which has
taken the Bulldogs to back-to-back appearances in the Northeast Regional Finals. He also serves as Bryant's third base coach
and helps direct the Bulldogs' offense. Off the field, Murphy organizes and directs the Bulldog Prospect Camps that are held
each summer, fall, and winter.
B
In the summer of 2007, Murphy served as head coach of the
Battle Creek Bombers of the prestigious Northwoods League
in the inaugural season, and in the two summers prior, he
served as an assistant coach for the Hyannis Mets of the Cape
Cod Baseball League. With Hyannis, Murphy was the team's hitting and third base coach, helping the Mets finished second in
the league in team batting average in 2006.
Prior to arriving at Bryant, Murphy
was an assistant coach at
Wheaton College for two seasons, where he assisted with all
aspects of the program, including
recruiting, working with hitters
and catchers, and assisting with
the pitching staff. In each of those
two seasons, Wheaton won the
NEWMAC regular-season title,
and in 2005, the Lyons advanced
to the NCAA DIII Northeast Regional Final.
Murphy graduated from Merrimack College in 2003 with a degree in management. Murphy, who was the captain of the Warriors as a junior and senior, was among the Northeast-10
Conference leaders in batting average and RBI throughout his
playing career.
MATT PONTE
First season
atthew Ponte begins his
first season at Bryant University in 2008-09, where
he will serve as pitching coach for
the Bulldogs.
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Ponte joins the Bulldogs after
serving as the top assistant at
Roger Williams University in Bristol, R.I. for the past three seasons.
Ponte helped lead Roger Williams
to a Commonwealth Coast Conference regular-season cham-
Wheaton ’05
pionship and an ECAC tournament championship in 2008, as
his team recorded a school-record 34 wins and a 24-2 record
in TCCC play.
Ponte had a distinguished playing career as a pitcher at
Wheaton College in Norton, Mass., where he was a part of three
NEWMAC championship teams and helped the Lyons advance
to NCAA regional play in 2002, 2003 and 2005. Ponte finished
his career with a 20-9 record, posting a 3.63 ERA in 238 innings
pitched. Ponte graduated from Wheaton ranked among the program's leaders in wins, ERA, innings pitched and complete
games.
JAY IANNONI
First season
University of Vermont ’06
ay Iannoni begins his first season at Bryant University in
2008-09, where he will serve as the Bulldogs first base coach
and will assist with the hitters and infielders.
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Previously a coach at the University of Vermont in 2007, Iannoni assisted with the hitters and infielders while with the Catamounts.
A 2006 graduate of Vermont, Iannoni enjoyed a successful playing career as an infielder. He was named to the America East
All-Rookie Team in 2003 and was honored as a Louisville Slug-
2009 Bryant University Baseball
ger Player of the Week. In 2006,
Iannoni was given the Russell
Sunderland Award, honoring the
senior student-athlete who best
demonstrated leadership and
persistence.
In 2008, Iannoni graduated from
Boston University with a Masters
in Education, specializing in Sport
Psychology.
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