#5 Tampa Falls In Series Finale

Box score

TAMPA, Fla. - A pair of costly errors and base-running miscues thwarted the No. 5 University of Tampa baseball team's comeback against fourth-ranked Georgia College. The Spartans (1-2) fell to the Bobcats (2-1) in the rubber match by a final score of 8-4 and lost the season-opening series two games to one.

Eric Grabe served as a bright spot for Tampa as he started on the hill and hit third in the lineup. The junior transfer tossed four solid innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out four and walking two. At the plate, Grabe managed three of UT's nine hits in the game and finished 8-for-14 (.571) in the three-game set.

Down 3-0 in the fifth, Tampa catcher Adam Pendleton started a rally with a one-out single. Freshman Zack Gawrych followed with a double before Connor Obrochta lifted a sacrifice fly to put the Spartans on the board. Patrick Donahue, who entered the at-bat hitless on the season, took a 1-1 pitch over the right field wall for a game-tying homer.

The Bobcats responded with a run in the next half inning off Frank DeJiulio (0-1), and added four more to their lead in the eighth and ninth. The Spartans put up a run in the eighth and appeared to be mounting a comeback in the ninth until a base-running mistake resulted in a double play that spelled the end for Tampa.

UT will go on the road next weekend to Greenwood, S.C., to face off against Lander, Grand Valley State, and 2008 national champion Mount Olive.

Livestats will be available on 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 blAst, a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.