Spartans Outrun Pumas in 10-1 Win
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Joseph's (Ind.)
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
|
Tampa
|
0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | X | 10 | 16 | 1 |
TAMPA, Fla. - The No. 1 University of Tampa baseball team collected one more win on Monday night after defeating Saint Joseph's College in a nine-inning contest. The victory improves the Spartans to 14-2 on the season while causing the Pumas to fall to 1-8.
After a scoreless first inning by either side, the Pumas took a 1-0 lead in the second. It wasn't until the bottom of the third inning that the Spartans put themselves on the board. Senior Andrew Jones singled into right field scoring both Connor Obrochta and Anthony Caronia, who got on by a hit-by-pitch and a walk, respectively. Jones later scored off a Puma balk.
The Spartans had another big inning in the fourth by adding five to their total. Two two-RBI singles by sophomore Connor Obrochta and Jones made up four of the Tampa runs. Another single by Eric Grabe would drive in the fifth and final run of the inning.
One-run innings in the sixth and the seventh would put the Spartans up 10-1, which would be the score for the remainder of the contest.
Jones went 5-for-5 in the game with four singles, one double, and four RBI. Obrochta, going 2-for-3, brought in three RBI after hitting for extra bases both times.
Senior southpaw Justin Leith threw five complete innings, allowing only one earned run and striking out six. Aaron Gerbasi and Mike Adams pitched one inning of relief each and combined to strike out two Puma batters. Junior Michael Zaccardo came in for the last two innings to close out the game. Leith improved to 1-0 on the season.
Spartan offense totaled 16 hits against the Puma pitching staff while Spartan defense held SJC to only five.
UT is scheduled to face Grand Canyon University on Friday at 7 p.m. The game will be the first of a three-game weekend series against GCU. Live stats and a webcast will be available through TampaSpartans.com.
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