#21 UT Rewrites Record Book In Doubleheader Sweep Of Eckerd
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The No. 21 University of Tampa (15-5, 3-0 SSC) baseball team notched a Sunshine State Conference sweep of Eckerd College (10-6, 0-3 SSC), beginning with a runaway 37-1 victory in game one. UT needed nine innings in the second of the twin bill to register a 6-5 win.
In the first game, UT set new school records with 37 runs, breaking the previous of 28 against Florida Memorial on Feb. 7, 1992. Tampa also etched its name in the all-time records with 17 runs in an inning, 11 multi-hit batters and nine hitters with multiple RBI.
The Spartans scored in each of the first four innings, highlighted by a 17-run second to grab a commanding 22-1 lead. Tampa also added six in the eighth as 16 Spartans had at least one hit.
Correy Figueroa, Graham Ramos, Brad Roberts, Mike Schwartz, Shaun Flynn, Patrick Donahue, Mike Bourdon, Mike Blanke, Dylan Brown, Tyler Cox and Brett McKean each recorded multiple hits as Larry Walicki's lone hit was a grand slam.
Walicki finished with five RBI as Bourdon and Cox each drove in four runs. Ramos, a freshman from Tampa, was 3-for-4 with three RBI while cracking his first collegiate home run.
AJ Pinera (2-1) started and earned the victory while going 7.0 innings on the historic occasion. The senior right-hander struck out six while walking none. Austin Evans pitched two scoreless innings of relief for UT.
In game two, Tampa took a 4-0 lead with a four-run second inning. The Tritons added a four-spot in the bottom of the seventh to knot the score on a two-out grand slam by Chris Clinton to force extras.
A Dylan Brown home run in the eighth was all for not when Eckerd responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the eighth. Tampa ultimately prevailed in the top of the ninth as Donahue drew a bases loaded walk to score Figueroa.
Tom Meagher earned the victory for Tampa as he moved to a perfect 3-0. His relief outing lasted 1.2 innings as he allowed no runs while striking out two. John Wiedenbauer started and threw six scoreless innings, yielding just three hits while striking out seven Tritons.
Tampa is back in action on Monday as it hosts a pair of games, beginning with Seton Hill at 11 a.m., and ending with a 7 p.m. contest with Bentley. Live stats and a webcast will be available through www.tampaspartans.com.
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