Strong Pitching Helps Lift Baseball To Home Doubleheader Sweep Over Mercy

Bridgeport, Conn.-An outstanding afternoon of pitching helped the University of Bridgeport baseball team to an East Coast Conference home sweep of the Mercy College Mavericks, as UB won game one, 10-0 and completed the sweep with a 3-1 victory.  The Purple Knights, who have won six of their last seven conference games, are now 12-17-1 overall and 6-9 in the ECC.  Mercy slips to 9-18 overall, and the Mavericks are 6-8 in conference play.

In the opener, freshman Dakota Edwards (Turlock, Calif.) and sophomore Adam Olszyk (Hamden, Conn.) combined on a six-hit shutout.  Edwards worked the first six innings to grab the win and raise his season record to 3-2 allowing four hits, while fanning five and walking only one, and Olszyk pitched the final three innings of the game to earn his first save of the year allowing two hits and three bases on balls.

Junior Mike Perry (East Haven, Conn.) went 3-for-4 with three RBI.  Junior Tim Bickford (Wallingford, Conn.) went 3-for-5 at the plate with two runs batted, and freshman Dylan Steigerwald (Holbrook, N.Y.) went 2-for-4 with two RBI.

In game two, senior Mike Nowak (Latham, N.Y.) was dominant on the hill pitching a seven-inning complete game in which he allowed only one unearned run in the final frame.  Nowak earned his first win of 2014 allowing five hits, striking out four and walking two.

UB scored all three of runs in the fifth inning when senior Jesse Solar (Marlton, N.J.) had a triple that drove in two, and then Solar scored on a perfect squeeze bunt by Dylan Steigerwald.

Bridgeport will look to complete the four-game series sweep at Mercy on Sunday, when the two teams closed wrap up play with a 12 noon single, nine-inning game.