UB Blanked By Dowling In Opening Game Of 2014 ECC Baseball Championship Tournament

Brookhaven, N.Y.-The fourth-seeded University of Bridgeport Purple Knights fell to the top-seeded and host Dowling College Golden Lions, 14-0, in the opening game of the 2014 East Coast Conference Baseball Championship Tournament on wet Thursday afternoon on Long Island.  With the loss, UB is now 17-27-1 overall and will play the loser of the St. Thomas Aquinas College versus Molloy College in an elimination game at 9:00 a.m. on Friday.  Dowling, now 32-13, overall, moves onto the winners' bracket at 12 noon tomorrow against the winner of the STAC/Molloy contest.

The Golden Lions scored two runs in both the first and second innings and never looked back on their way to the win, as they blew the game wide open with 10 runs in the bottom of the sixth. 

Dowling starter and two-time ECC Pitcher of the Year Tyler Badamo was outstanding on the afternoon working seven scoreless innings in which he allowed six hits (all singles) with nine strikeouts and one walk.  Badamo is now 8-3 on the year.  Starter Brian O'Keefe (Jr., Milford, Conn.), who is now 5-7 on the year, took the loss for UB.

Jason Perez and Dave Montverdi each worked a scoreless inning in relief to wrap up the shutout for the Golden Lions.

Freshman Dylan Steigerwald (Holbrook, N.Y.) had two hits for the Purple Knights on Thursday.