Spartans Trounce Sharks in Top-10 Showdown
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
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0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 10 | 14 | 0 |
TAMPA, Fla. - The No. 1 University of Tampa baseball team defeated No. 7 Nova Southeastern University on Friday night by a nine-run margin. The win improves the Spartans to 36-8 (16-6 SSC) while the Sharks' fall to 31-10 (11-7 SSC).
The Spartan bats exploded in the bottom of the third inning to put the game's first runs on the board. The first runs of the eight-run Tampa inning came after four consecutive singles by Shane Rowland, Raiko Alfonso, Connor Obrochta, and Damon Elder. Both Obrochta and Elder's hits drove in one run each.
The scoring continued. After Obrochta scored on an Eric Grabe RBI single, junior B.J. Zimmerman launched a three-run homerun over the right field wall to put the Spartans up 6-0 on the Sharks.
Tampa topped off its third-inning rally with another homerun. After a single by Heath Pritchard, sophomore Zach Gawrych lifted a ball over the left field wall to bring the Spartans' lead to eight runs.
Tampa tacked on one run in both of the following two innings to extend its lead to 10-0 over Nova Southeastern.
The extent of the Sharks' scoring was held to just one run in the top of the seventh inning. The Spartans defeated the Sharks by a score of 10-1.
A pair of Spartans, Grabe and Gawyrch, finished the game going 2-for-3 with two RBI apiece. Zimmerman, Gawrych, and Pritchard each hit a homerun in the contest. The homers mark Zimmerman's second, Gawrych's third, and Pritchard's seventh of the season.
The Spartans collected 14 hits total compared to NSU's six.
Junior Ben O'Shea started on the mound for Tampa. O'Shea threw seven complete innings and struck out seven Sharks. The lefty allowed only one earned run off six hits and recorded his seventh win on the year. Both junior Mike Adams and senior Nate Titus pitched one inning of relief. The pair combined to strike out three and allow no hits.
The Spartans and Sharks will return to the UT Baseball Field tomorrow for a scheduled doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Live stats and a video webcast will be available through TampaSpartans.tv.
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