Purple Knights Open 2016 Home Baseball Schedule With 9-0 Blanking Of Assumption

Bridgeport, Conn.-The University of Bridgeport baseball team plated four unearned runs in the bottom of the first inning, and the Purple Knights never looked backed, as UB opened its 2016 home scheduled at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard with 9-0 shutout over the visiting Assumption College Greyhounds.  The victory evens the Purple Knights season record at 6-6-1.  The Greyhounds are now 6-10 on the young season.

UB used four pitchers to pick up its first shutout of 2016.  Junior Matt Van Riper (Elmwood Park, N.J.) picked up the win to raise his season record to 2-1, as he started the contest and scattered eight hits over six innings in which he fanned three batters and walked just one.

On offense, the Purple Knights had ten hits led by senior Alec Jannotta (Branford, Conn.), who went 2-for-3 at the plate with three runs batted.  Jannotta blasted a mammoth two-run home run to left field in UB's four-run fifth inning to put the game away.

Sophomore Ben Torres (Hollywood, Fla.) also had two had two runs batted for the winners on Wednesday.

Up next, the UB baseball team will open East Coast Conference play with a weekend series against the Queens (N.Y.) College Knights.  The series will begin with a Friday doubleheader hosted by the Purple Knights at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard.  Game one is slated to begin at 1:00 p.m.