UT to Broadcast Game with Phillies on Sunday

TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Tampa has announced that it will provide a free video broadcast of Sunday's game between UT and the Philadelphia Phillies. The game is scheduled to start at 1:05 p.m., at Brighthouse Field in Clearwater, Fla.

The game will be produced by UT through EZStream and Major League Baseball. Fans can access the game through TampaSpartans.tv or Phillies.com on the day of the game. The broadcasters for the game will be Jack Eich and Scott Lynn, who bring a combined 50 years of broadcasting experience at the NCAA and professional sports level.

The game marks the opening for 2015 Spring Training and will be the first game played by a Major League Baseball team this spring. It will serve as an exhibition game for the Spartans, who are currently the No. 1 team in NCAA Division II. UT has an overall record of 11-1 this season.

UT baseball has won six national championships, taking the top prize in 1992, 1993, 1998, 2006, 2007 and 2013. A baseball powerhouse, the Spartans have produced 71 MLB Draft picks, 73 All-Americans, 7 players who advanced to the MLB level and 29 NCAA tournament appearances.

Head coach Joe Urso, now in his 15th year at the helm, owns an all-time record of 632-181-1 as the fastest coach in NCAA history to 600 career wins. His .777 winning percentage is also among the best in all NCAA levels. The program has a total of 1,480 victories, and has produced notable alums including Tino Martinez, Sam Militello, Ozzie Timmons and Lou Piniella. San Francisco Giants general manager Brian Sabean was the third coach in program history as he led UT in 1982-84. Sabean led Tampa to its first NCAA tournament appearance in 1984.

The UT baseball program is no stranger to big games, as it most recently traveled to Cuba to play some of the top teams in Cuba in January of 2014. The Spartans also defeated The Netherlands national team, 7-6, in a game prior to the 2006 World Baseball Classic. That game was played at Jack Russell Stadium in Clearwater.

This marks the second game in program history against an MLB team, with the first coming in 2005 against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2005. That game was played at Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.

About Jack Eich

Jack is currently the play-by-play announcer of University of Tampa athletic teams on TampaSpartans.tv. In two seasons with UT, he has announced baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's soccer, softball and men's and women's lacrosse. Prior to moving to Florida, Jack was the play-by-play broadcaster of University of Wisconsin Badgers women's hockey for five years on Madison's Clear Channel Radio. In that time, the Badgers won two NCAA titles and were runners up another season. He has broadcast NCAA D1 men's hockey, Wisconsin State high school basketball and hockey championships, many regular season high school football and basketball games, and hosted a number of sports talk shows. He also was a regular contributor to ESPN Radio and Fox Sports Radio providing live reports during Wisconsin Badgers football and basketball games. While in Madison, Jack was involved in local sports casting. He was the sports director at WMTV (NBC) and at WTDY-AM. Jack and his wife Martha and daughter Devyn moved to the Tampa, FL area in November 2013 after living in Madison, WI for many years. He finally got tired of shoveling snow.

About Scott Lynn

Scott Lynn recently returned to the Tampa Bay area after working in radio and TV the last 34 years in Portland, OR. Lynn was Assistant Sports Director at WTSP-TV (Channel 10) in St. Petersburg from 1978-1980 prior to leaving for a position with Portland's KGW-TV in August of 1980. He was named Sports Director of KGW-TV in 1983, and spent the last 24 years as Sports Director of 50,000-watt KEX Radio, the radio home of the Portland Trail Blazers and Oregon State University Beavers. A seven-time Oregon Sportscaster of the Year, Lynn anchored KEX's drive-time sports reports and hosted a daily sports talk program. He also called play-by-play for Prime Sports Northwest/Fox Sports Northwest, Comcast SportsNet Northwest, the (OSU) Beavers' Television Network, and on Versus. During his time in Portland, the Lincoln, Illinois native also served as the play-by-play announcer, sideline reporter, and pregame and postgame host on the Portland Trail Blazers Radio Network. A veteran of more than 38 years in broadcasting, Lynn authored THORNRIDGE: The Perfect Season in Black and White in 2009 while battling colon cancer. Since moving back to the Tampa Bay area in June of 2014, Lynn has called play-by-play of Eckerd College men's basketball and is currently calling play-by-play of University of Tampa baseball on TampaSpartans.TV.