Stanley Susana and Frank Salerno rapped out three hits each and Matt Marotta worked seven strong innings for the win as the St. Thomas Aquinas College baseball team topped the University of Bridgeport at Harbor Yard, 9-2. The Spartans now stand at 25-13 overall and move to within one game of Dowling in the East Coast Conference standings at 10-4. Bridgeport is now 9-16, 5-9 in ECC play.

It took just two batters for the visitors to break on top. Frank Salerno led off with a walk off Nick Vautrin, stole second, and was singled in by Nick Barbalato. Two batters later, Barbalato would come in on a Mike Russo sacrifice fly to put STAC up a pair. Bridgeport would battle back to tie the score on single runs in the second and third. John Ascenzia's RBI single got his team on the board, and they drew even when Eric Schlitter's double plated an unearned run.

The Spartans quickly regained the edge in the fourth on Andrew Romanella's run-scoring single. STAC added another in the sixth on a Salerno single to make it 4-2 before breaking the game open in the seventh.

Susana, Andrew Hancsak, Derek Hirsch, Christian Santo, and Salerno each recorded RBI hits in a five-run uprising that would put the game out of reach. Meanwhile, Marotta settled into the form that the Spartans have expected from their ace. After allowing six hits over the first three innings, the senior retired 12 of his final 13 batters faced, keeping Bridgeport hitless over his last four innings of work and lowering his season ERA to 1.73.

Marotta now stands at 6-0 on the season, with Vautrin falling to 2-7. In addition to Salerno and Susana's three hits each, Russo, Hancsak and Hirsch added two hits apiece in the 16-hit Spartan attack.

With STAC's 13-6 victory in Bridgeport on March 27, the Spartans have now taken the first two ECC clashes against the Purple Knights. The series concludes tomorrow, Saturday, April 21, with a noon twin-bill at Provident Bank Park. The Spartans will play another big conference tilt on Tuesday, April 24, when Molloy College visits "The Bank," with first pitch scheduled for 3:30 pm.

East Coast Conference Standings (thru 4/20/12)