Bridgeport rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to pull out a thrilling 3-2 win over St. Thomas Aquinas College in the first game of East Coast Conference best-of-three championship series at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, Ct.

 

The second game will be Saturday at noon, with the third game, if needed, at 2 pm at Seaside Park. The conference champion will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA East Regional tourney that begins Wednesday at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. The win lifted top-seeded Bridgeport to 21-7 while STAC fell to 24-12. 

 

STAC’s Carissa Della Vecchia took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, before Bridgeport put together four hits to walk off with the victory. Kaira Ramon doubled to right center for UB’s first hit and Taylor Yates singled her home to cut the STAC lead to 2-1. Kiana Robinson and Sarah Silver followed with singles, to plate the deciding runs. 

 

STAC had built a 2-0 lead in the sixth inning, highlighted by freshman Tara Hagan’s clutch single to center field. Della Vecchia finished with 10 strikeouts and received outstanding defensive support from center fielder Missy Sadler.