Bats Boom As Baseball Picks Up Sunday Road Sweep Over St. Thomas Aquinas

Pomona, N.Y.-The University of Bridgeport baseball team had hits hitting shoes on as the Purple Knights banged out 25 hits in a road doubleheader sweep of host St. Thomas Aquinas on Sunday afternoon, as Bridgeport won game one, 7-3, and completed the sweep over the Spartans with a 10-2 victory in game two.  With the two wins, UB is now 5-14 overall and 2-1 in the East Coast Conference.  STAC slips to 9-10 overall and 1-2 in the ECC.

In the opener, Bridgeport had 13 hits led by senior Eamon Catherina (Ridgefield, N.J.) and sophomore Conall Roberts (Mt. Laurel, N.J.), who each had three hits.  Catherina plus Joey Grillo (Fr., Sound Beach, N.Y.) and Cory Listing (Fr., West Sand Lake, N.Y.) each had two runs batted in the game one victory.

On the mound, junior Jason Burger (Orlando, Fla.) earned the win in the opener working seven innings in which he allowed three runs on five hits with five strikeouts. Classmate Jonathan Brooks (Stratford, Conn.) finished game one with two scoreless innings in relief.

The Bridgeport bats stayed hot in the nightcap smacking 12 hits in the seven-inning contest, as UB out the game away early scoring five runs in the first two innings.

Sophomore Patrick Palmer (Ansonia, Conn.) led the UB hit parade in game two going 3-for-3 with three runs batted in. Freshmen Ryan Donnelly (Fairfield, Conn.) and Matt Rodriguez (New Milford, Conn.) along with Conall Roberts, each had hits in the nightcap, and Donnelly, Joey Grillo plus junior Alex Rauso (Trumbull, Conn.), each had two RBIs.

Junior William Jackson (New Haven, Conn.) earned the win in game two working six strong innings to up his season record to 2-1.  Jackson allowed only one run on four hits with six K's during his six innings of work.

The same two teams will close out their four-game East Coast Conference series on Monday afternoon in Bridgeport with a single game.  First pitch in Seaside Park is set for 3:00 p.m.