Never Say Die Purple Knights Move On To ECC Baseball Championship Round With 14-12 Win Over Molloy

Shirley, N.Y.-For the fifth time in the last six seasons, the University of Bridgeport baseball team has advanced to the Championship Round of the East Coast Conference Tournament on Saturday after the Purple Knights rallied from being down 8-2 with four runs in each of the final three innings to stun the third-seeded Molloy College Lions, 14-12.  The fourth-seeded Purple Knights, who are now 26-21-1 on the season, must now defeat the second-seeded Dowling College Golden Lions later this afternoon (4:00 p.m. first pitch) and tomorrow at 12 noon to win the ECC crown and advance to the NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament which will begin on Thursday.  Dowling needs just one win in those two possible games to claim the ECC title.

Trailing 12-10 entering the top of the ninth inning in Saturday's first elimination game for the team, UB scored four runs on RBI singles by junior Casey McCone (Milford, Conn.), who went 4-for-5 in the game, and sophomore Isaiah Rivera (Newington, Conn.), plus a Molloy error and wild pitch.

Junior Anthony Alicki (Milford, Conn.), UB's sixth pitcher in the contest, picked up the win on the mound for Bridgeport working 1.2 scoreless innings to raise his season mark to 3-5.  Alicki, who closed the game out by fanning the side in the bottom of the twelfth, did not allow a hit with four strikeouts and one walk.  

Earlier in the game, Bridgeport senior Alnaydo Rodriguez (Bronx, N.Y.) launched home run number eight of season, a two-run blast to centerfield in the fourth inning.