Tampa Continues Comebacks To Down Stillman
TAMPA, Fla. - The fifth-ranked University of Tampa baseball team notched a doubleheader sweep over Stillman College on Saturday afternoon, taking game one 11-9 and game two 6-2. The Spartans (7-2) overcame early deficits in both contests over the Tigers (4-7) to clinch a series victory.
Tampa faced an uphill battle in the first contest as Stillman got out to a 4-1 lead in the first frame. UT starter Matt Williams got touched up for six runs-five earned-in 4.1 innings of work before exiting.
As they chipped away at the Tiger lead, each Spartan recorded at least one RBI in the game before UT grabbed its first lead in a sixth inning. Raiko Alfonso led off with a walk before Eric Grabe doubled to put both runners in scoring position. Shawn Pleffner followed with a sacrifice fly and junior Andrew Jones singled home Grabe to put Tampa up 8-6. Grabe, Jones, and catcher Mike Bourdon led the Spartan offense as each put up three hits.
The Spartans added some insurance runs in the seventh as Grabe launched a two-run homer. The extra runs were needed, however, as the Tigers threatened in the ninth. Tim Kiley entered with bases juiced in the final frame and shut the door for his second save of the season.
Sophomore Mike Adams who took over in relief of Williams earned his first career win with 1.2 innings.
In the second contest, the Spartans fell behind 1-0 but rebounded convincingly. Shane Riedie (2-0) started on the hill and tossed four solid innings to earn the win. He gave up six hits and just one run, allowing the Tampa bats to take over.
Down by one in the second, the Spartans tallied four runs in the bottom half to down Stillman. Pleffner reached on a walk and, after Jones singled, moved to third on a heads up base running play to put runners on the corners. Freshman Tyler Ding added a fielder's choice RBI and Cody Davis singled home a run before Alfonso ripped a two-RBI double to put Tampa up 4-1.
UT added two more in the third as Jones smacked a two-run shot to left to close out the Spartan scoring. Tampa appeared poised to take the win until an error in the final frame loaded the bases with no outs. Stillman scratched across a run but senior Nate Titus worked out of the jam to earn a three-inning save, the first of his career.
Tampa and Stillman will close out this four-game series tomorrow in an 11 a.m. contest. Livestats and a webcast 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.