UB Baseball Sweeps Its Way Into 2012 East Coast Conference Championship Tournament

West Haven, Conn.-The University of Bridgeport baseball team used outstanding pitching and timely hitting to sweep a doubleheader from the Molloy College Lions on Saturday and clinch a spot in the 2012 East Coast Conference Championship Tournament which will begin on Thursday, May 10 at a site to be determined.  On Saturday, the Purple Knights took game one, 3-1, and completed the sweep with a 5-0 victory in game two.  Bridgeport has now won seven games in a row, and the two wins raise UB's overall record to 16-18; and the team's conference mark is now 12-11.  Molloy falls to 19-28 overall and 9-14 in the ECC.  What a day it was for the seniors on the Bridgeport baseball who graduated at the Webster Bank Arena earlier in the day on Saturday and then locked a spot in the ECC Tournament.

In game one, the Purple Knights scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning as junior Mike Olszyk (Hamden, Conn.) and seniors Ryan Barba (Stratford, Conn.) and Matt Nassi (N. Providence, R.I.), who had two hits in the opener, drove in runs.

Those three runs would be all that starter Matt Wing (Jr., Brookville, Ontario, Canada) would need as he worked six strong innings to raise his season record to 4-3.  Wing allowed only one run on seven hits during his time on the mound.

Mike Olszyk worked a perfect seventh inning with one strike out to record his first save of 2012.

Senior righty Nick Vautrin (S. Hadley, Mass.) was the story for Bridgeport in game two, as he hurled his second straight complete game shutout to raise his season record to 4-7.  Vautrin blanked Molloy on only three infield hits, and he struck out four and walked on one on the day.

Three UB players had two hits apiece in the nightcap, senior Matt Ranaudo (Milford, Conn.), who also knocked in a run, plus Mike Olszyk and Ryan Barba.

Junior Mike Doran (Milford, Conn.) added a key two-RBI single for Bridgeport in the game two victory.

Bridgeport and Molloy will close out the 2012 regular season on Sunday afternoon on Long Island with a 2:00 p.m. single game.