Spartans Take NCAA South Regional with 20-7 Rout of West Florida
TAMPA, Fla. - With a 20-7 climax to the NCAA South Region Tournament, the No. 2 University of Tampa baseball team defeated No. 12 University of West Florida and will advance to NCAA Championship Series.
The Spartans head to Cary, N.C. to continue their 43-11 season while the Argonauts end their 2013 campaign with a 39-14 record.
Tampa senior Jake Schrader erupted in the Sunday contests as the third baseman notched two home runs and six RBI between the two contests. Outfielder Zach Gawrych tallied five hits on the day, including a game two 4-for-5 performance while also adding three each of runs and RBI.
South Regional All-Tournament Most Valuable Player, Adam Pendleton, had a pair of hits to cap off his great weekend of play. The senior amassed three RBI and a pair of runs in the second game.
With their backs against the wall, the Argos of UWF took the first game 7-2, thus forcing a winner-take-all finale to the South Regional.
UWF jumped on the board early as the Argos plated three runners in the first as second baseman and All-Tournament selection Kaleb Barlow roped a three run homer to left field.
Tampa answered back in their next half inning, scoring two runs as Schrader launched a home run over the right field fence to cut the Argo lead 3-2.
Cliff Covington and Josh Allen padded the Argonaut lead with a RBI single each. Barlow would add another run to the scoreboard as UWF won the first game 7-2 to force a decisive second game.
West Florida pitching had been stellar throughout the tournament as yet another Argo starter went the distance. Jake Stephens (8-1) pitched a complete game against the Spartans, allowing two earned runs on five hits with a pair of strikeouts.
Senior Eric Luksis (5-3) was tabbed with the loss, tossing four innings for the UT squad. Reliever Michael Calkins tossed the remaining four frames, surrendering a single unearned run, but Tampa was unable to overcome the Argo offense in the first game.
The Spartan bats erupted for the second game, as Tampa scored 20 runs off of 19 hits to punch their ticket to NCAA Championship Series with a 20-7 victory.
Six Tampa batters tallied mutli-hit performances, as Gawrych led the way with his four knocks. All-Tournament recipients Tyler Ding and Connor Obrochta had three hits apiece while Sean O'Brien mirrored with a three hit night to his credit.
Junior Michael Danner notched two hits including a double, scoring three runs and crossing the plate twice.
Right-handed pitcher Preston Packrall took the mound for the Spartans, starting 3.2 innings. Senior Aaron Gerbasi tossed 3.1 relief innings to earn the win, sending a seven down on strikes with Freshman David Heintz throwing the final two innings, allowing a single hit in his relief work.
Argo starter Drew Bryson (6-2) was the pitcher of record, as the UWF pitching staff could not contain the Tampa offense.
This marks Tampa's 15th South Region baseball title, and the first since 2010. UT has won five national championships, most recently in 2007. The South Region has enjoyed a large amount of success at the national level, as current teams have won six national championships since 2004.
Tampa will open play at the 2013 NCAA Championship Series on Sunday, May 26 against Coker College, who won the Southeast Region title. The game will be played at 5 p.m., in Cary, N.C. Please visit TampaSpartans.com for complete information on UT baseball.
2013 NCAA South Regional All-Tournament Team
C - Adam Pendleton, Tampa
1B - Cliff Covington, West Florida
2B - Tyler Ding, Tampa
3B - Tyler Aldridge, Delta State
SS - Josh Allen, West Florida
OF - Jake Fields, Valdosta State
OF - Drew Prichard, West Florida
OF - Connor Obrochta, Tampa
DH - Kaleb Barlow, West Florida
P - Dyann Rodriguez, West Florida
P - Jake Stephens, West Florida
Most Valuable Player: Adam Pendleton, Tampa
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