Good Friday for the Spartans

Box score

TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Tampa baseball team shut out Sunshine State Conference opponent Barry University on Friday night with a score of 10-0. The victory improves Tampa to 26-6 (8-5 SSC) as Barry falls to 15-15 (8-5 SSC).

Tampa took the early lead in the first inning after four hits and a wild pitch allowed two Spartans to score. Sophomore Connor Obrochta began the four-hit inning with a lead-off single.

A solo homerun to centerfield by senior Andrew Jones in the third increased the Spartan lead to three. In the same inning, an RBI single by sophomore Zach Gawrych scored Eric Grabe to put Tampa up by four on the Bucs.

The Spartans tacked on one run in the fourth, sixth, and seventh innings. Tampa's scoring was topped off by its three-run inning in the bottom of the eighth. After a sacrifice fly by Grabe scored Obrochta, sophomore Tyler Ding drove in two runs with a single up the middle to give the Spartans a 10-0 lead.

Tampa totaled 15 hits in the contest versus Barry. Two Spartans, Jones and junior Anthony Caronia, went 3-for-4 on the night. Jones notched a single, double, and a homerun while Caronia collected a single, double, and a triple.

Grabe and Obrochta both batted .500 in the game, each getting two hits in their four at-bats.

Junior southpaw Ben O'Shea started on the mound for Tampa. O'Shea pitched seven complete innings, struck out seven Bucs, and allowed five hits. Junior Michael Zaccardo closed out the game by throwing two complete innings and allowing only two hits.

The Spartans and the Bucs will return to the UT Baseball Field on Saturday for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Live stats and a webcast will be available through TampaSpartans.com.

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