Shirley, N.Y. - The University of Bridgeport baseball team advanced to the winners bracket of the 2016 East Coast Conference Championship Tournament on a Thursday with a 6-3, 10-inning win over the number one-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas College Spartans. The 2016 ECC Championship is being hosted by Dowling College in Shirley, New York. The fourth-seeded Purple Knights, who are now 25-20-1 on the season, will now face the number two-seeded and host, Dowling College Golden Lions, who topped Molloy College, 8-6, in Thursday's opening game at 12 noon. St. Thomas Aquinas is now 35-14 after the loss to UB on Thursday, and the Spartans will face number three-seed Molloy College in an elimination game at 9:00 a.m. on Friday.
On Thursday, STAC jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first inning, but UB came right back to cut the deficit to only one run at 3-2 in the second inning, when junior Tyler Gambardella (West Haven, Conn.) plated two runs with a double.
Junior Denis Lyman (Kingston, N.Y.) was the story on the mound in relief for Bridgeport, as he worked 8.1 innings of scoreless ball, in which he allowed only three hits with 12 strikeouts and two walks. Lyman is now 3-2 on the season.
UB tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly by junior Casey McCone (Milford, Conn.).
The Purple Knights scored three runs in the top of the tenth inning on a two-run single by sophomore Ben Torres (Hollywood, Fla.) and a wild pitch.
Provided by the Bridgeport Sports Information Department.
