Bats Boom As Baseball Scores 30 Runs And Bangs Out 31 Hits In Sweep Of Staten Island

Bridgeport, Conn.-The University of Bridgeport baseball team used an offensive explosion on Saturday afternoon to sweep an East Coast Conference doubleheader from the College of Staten Island Dolphins, as the Purple Knights scored a total of 30 runs and banged out 31 hits.  UB won game one, 17-10, and completed the seep with a 13-10 victory.  Bridgeport is now 3-2, both overall and in conference play, and CSI is now 0-5 overall and in the ECC.

In the opener, the visiting Dolphins pushed across a run in the top of the first only to see the host Purple Knights score five times in the bottom of the frame to take an advantage that they would never relinquish in the game.

Six Bridgeport batters had multi-hit games to spearhead a 17-hit attack in game one led by junior Ryan Donnelly (Fairfield, Conn.) and Craig Leonard (Holtsville, N.Y.), who each had three base knocks, and graduate student Andre Marchesseault (Cheshire, Conn.), freshman Anthony Pascale (Stony Brook, Conn.), senior Stephen Giambra (Milford, Conn.) plus sophomore Justin Nyarady (Trumbull, Conn.) each had two hits for the winners.

Leonard, Giambra plus senior Matt Rodriguez (New Milford, Conn.) each had three runs batted in for UB in the opener.

Senior Anthony Martino (West Sayville, N.Y.) started and worked five innings to pick up the win on the mound in game one for UB to up his season record to 2-0.  Junior William Ciccone (Shelton, Conn.) pitched the final four innings of game one to earn the save.

In the nightcap, the Purple Knights had to rally to earn the win scoring five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to turn a 7-5 deficit into a 10-7 lead, as the inning was keyed by a game-tying, two-RBI triple by Anthony Pascale and a go-ahead, two RBI single by Justin Nyarady, who add two more hits in the nightcap to go 4-for-7 at the plate on the day.

Sophomore Jacob Rich (Northwood, N.H.) led the 14-hit offensive attack in game two with three hits, and Andre Marchesseault, Craig Leonard and Ryan Donnelly, each finish with two base hits in game two. Rich, Marchesseault, Pascale and Nyarady, each had two runs batted in Bridgeport in the 13-10 game two victory.

Junior Matthew Wirz (Stamford, Conn.) pitched two innings of scoreless and hitless relief to pick up the win in the nightcap for the Purple Knights.

The same two teams will wrap up their three-game conference series on Monday afternoon with a 3:30 p.m. single game at the College of Staten Island.