Bridgeport Softball Opens ECC Championship Series With A 3-2 Walk-Off Win Over St. Thomas Aquinas

Bridgeport, Conn.-The top-seeded University of Bridgeport softball team scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to come away with a 3-2 walk-off win over the third-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas College Spartans in the opening game of their best-of-three East Coast Conference Final Series in Bridgeport on Friday afternoon.  With the victory, the Purple Knights are now one win away from their second straight ECC crown and a trip to the NCAA Championship Tournament.  STAC must now win two games on Saturday to take the conference title beginning with a game at 12 noon in Seaside Park, and if the Spartans force a game three, it will be played approximately 30 minutes after the competition of game one.

With the win, Bridgeport is now 21-7 on the season.  St. Thomas Aquinas in now 24-12 overall.

On Friday, the Spartans scored two runs in the top of the sixth inning to snap a scoreless tie and an RBI-single by Tara Hogan and a UB fielding miscue.

Down to their final three outs, the Purple Knights finally broke through against STAC's Carissa Della Vecchia who had completely stymied the Bridgeport offense through six innings.  Senior Kaira Ramon (Stamford, Conn.) begin the bottom of the seventh with a double to the right-center gap, her second hit of the day.  Ramon quickly crossed the plate when the next batter, sophomore Taylor Yates (Elk Grove, Calif.) lined an RBI-single to left centerfield to make the score 2-1 in favor of the Spartans.

After a successful sacrifice bunt by senior Samantha Ferreri (Hauppauge, N.Y.) moved Yates to second, sophomore Samantha Schiebe (Monroe, Conn.) reached on a St. Thomas Aquinas error to put runners at the corners.

Freshman Grace Derita (Middletown, Conn.) entered the game as pinch runner for Schiebe and stole second base to put two Purple Knights in scoring position with just one out.

Next, UB would tie the game at 2-2 when freshman Kiana Robinson (Hamden, Conn.) scored Yates from the third on an infield single off the pitcher's glove.

With runners back on the corners, senior Sarah Silver (Vernon, Conn.) worked the count to 2-2 and played the hero for Bridgeport, as she stroked the biggest hit of her UB career right up the middle to plate Derita and give her team the 3-2 victory.

The heroics in the bottom of the seventh by UB made a winner of sophomore Kaite Burawski (Hartley, Del.), who is now 14-3 on the season.  On Friday, Kaite fired her fourteenth complete game of the season, allowing six hits, two runs (one earned) with 10 strikeouts and two walks.

Carissa Della Vecchia was the hard-luck loser in the circle for the Spartans working 6.1 innings in which she allowed only five hits, three runs (two earned) with 10 strikeouts and no walks.  The loss makes her season record now 14-7.