Purple Knights Defeat St. Thomas Aquinas, 5-3, In ECC Baseball Action

Bridgeport, Conn.-The University of Bridgeport baseball team evened its season record at 14-14 and raised its East Coast Conference mark to 8-5 with a 5-3 home win over the visiting St. Thomas Aquinas College Spartans on Saturday afternoon at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard.  With the loss, STAC is now 21-12 overall and 7-4 in the ECC.

Trailing 1-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning, the host Purple Knights scored four runs in the frame to grab a 4-1 lead which the never relinquished. In the fourth, graduate student Zach Burger (Orlando, Fla.) tied the game with an RBI single, and junior Stephen DiNicola (Rochester, N.Y.) gave UB a 3-1 lead with a two-RBI double, his first of two doubles on the day, and classmate Ben Torres (Hollywood, Fla.) drove home DiNicola with another two-bagger.

Junior Daren Grabowski (Berlin, Conn.) drove home the Purple Knights' final run of the afternoon with a perfect suicide squeeze bunt in the bottom of the seventh.

Senior Casey McCone (Milford, Conn.) had one hit on Saturday to move to just one hit shy of tying the UB all-time career hits record of 183 held by John Ascenzia.

Starter Anthony Alicki (Sr., Milford, Conn.) was outstanding picking up the win to up his season record to 3-1, as he pitched seven strong innings in which he allowed only five hits and one run; plus he fanned seven and issued three walks.

Junior Dennis Berardi (Brewster, N.Y.) slammed the door on a potential STAC rally, as he earned his third save of 2017 retiring all five batters he faced.  Berardi struck out three of the five batters he faced.

Up next, the UB baseball team will step out of East Coast Conference play on Monday, when the Purple Knights host Franklin Pierce University on Monday afternoon at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard in a non-conference doubleheader.  First pitch is set for 2:00 p.m.