#15 Spartans Edge #22 Blazers In Series Opener
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Valdosta State
|
0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 15 | 3 |
|
Tampa
|
1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | 7 | 11 | 1 |
TAMPA, Fla. - The No. 15 University of Tampa baseball team came out on the winning end of Friday night's back-and-forth affair with No. 22 Valdosta State University, edging the Blazers by a final score of 7-6. The win moves the Spartans to 12-3 on the season while VSU drops to 10-4 after game one of the three-game set.
Senior Correy Figueroa led off the game for the Spartans with a single up the middle before advancing to third on consecutive wild pitches. Brad Roberts then reached base thanks to a fielding error by the Blazers' second baseman, scoring Figueroa and giving Tampa the early 1-0 lead.
Valdosta State quickly rebounded in the top of the second, however, with an RBI single from Josh Higginbotham. In the third, the Blazers' Clayton Cain popped a solo home run to centerfield to give VSU their first and only lead of the contest.
After falling behind, the Spartans rallied in the bottom half of the frame, putting four runs on the board. Roberts singled to lead off the inning before Mike Schwartz reached on a throwing error, plating Roberts and knotting the score at 2-2. Blazer starter Brett Kennedy issued a walk to Jared Simon, putting runners on first and second. Mike Blanke singled to the right side, scoring Schwartz, before Devin Gonzalez roped a 2 RBI double to left-center to round out the scoring for the inning.
Valdosta State would not settle, scoring one in the fourth and two in the fifth to tie the game once again. Blanke contributed another RBI single in the fifth to put Tampa on top 6-5 but after the Blazers tied it in the sixth, Blanke added his third RBI single of the game to make it 7-6 in favor of the Spartans.
The Blazers loaded the bases in the ninth with two outs and A.J. Pinera (1) on the hill, but the senior got out of the jam to secure his first save of the season. Josh Bowman got the start for the Spartans but exited with the game tied with two outs in the fifth. Kris Castellanos picked up his second straight victory after coming on in relief. Castellanos (2-0) threw 3.2 innings of work allowing just four hits and one run for the win.
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