Purple Knights Fall In 2019 ECC Baseball Opener To St. Thomas Aquinas, 8-5

Bridgeport, Conn.-The University of Bridgeport baseball team opened its 2019 East Coast Conference schedule at home on a chilly and breezy Saturday afternoon in Seaside Park, and the Purple Knights were defeated by the visiting St. Thomas Aquinas College Spartans, 8-5.  UB is now 3-14 overall and 0-1 in the ECC; STAC moves to 9-8 overall and 1-0 in conference play.

On Saturday, the Purple Knights grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a double steal of home and second, but the Spartans stormed back to scored three runs in the fifth and five in the sixth to take a lead which they never gave up.

Freshman Joey Grillo (Sound Beach, N.Y.) went 2-for-5 on the day with two runs batted for the Purple Knights, and classmate Cory Listing (West Sand Lake, N.Y.) blasted the first home run at Bridgeport's new home diamond in Seaside Park, a two-run shot in the eighth inning.

UB's Eamon Catherina (Ridgefield, N.J.) also had two hits on the afternoon.

The same two teams will play a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon hosted by St. Thomas Aquinas, and then wrap up their four-game conference series in Bridgeport with a single game at 3:00 p.m. on Monday afternoon.