Title On The Line As Rivals Meet In Tampa

TAMPA, Fla. - The No. 2 University of Tampa baseball team closes out conference play this weekend as it hosts No. 4 Florida Southern in a key series between the two foes. The Spartans (39-8, 18-3 SSC) can clinch their 13th Sunshine State Conference championship with a pair of victories, while the Mocs (37-7, 12-3) will be looking to keep their title hopes alive.

Tampa will hope to buck the trend as the road team has won the series in each of the past two seasons.

A year ago in Lakeland, the Mocs appeared poised to take two of the three games, but a three-run, game-tying homer from Jared Simon in the seventh inning of nightcap of the doubleheader kept Tampa alive. Jesus Barroso then hit what would be the game-winning home run in the eighth to give the series to the Spartans.

FSC owns a slight upper-hand in the hotly contested all-time series as the Mocs have compiled a 72-68 mark against Tampa.

Each squad enters the weekend hoping to avoid a losing streak as both have dropped its previous two contests. UT was swept last Saturday by Barry, while Florida Southern has dropped non-conference games to Palm Beach Atlantic and Embry-Riddle.

Prior to the first game on Saturday, Tampa's 11 seniors will be recognized for their honors and accomplishments as the day marks the final regular season home contests for the group.

Live stats and a webcast for the series will be offered through www.tampaspartans.com. Fans may also follow University of Tampa athletics on Twitter (www.twitter.com/utspartans) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/tampaspartans). UT also offers eScores, a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.