Tampa Concludes Season at 54-4 in National Semis
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Tampa
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
|
Colorado Mesa
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 2 |
CARY, N.C. - The University of Tampa (54-4) baseball team ended a historic run with a 3-2 loss to Colorado Mesa University (47-12) at the semifinals of the 2014 NCAA Championship Series at the USA Baseball Training Complex.
Connor Obrochta put Tampa in position for its first run as the centerfielder led off the third inning with a double to left field. After moving to third on an Orlando Rivera sacrifice bunt, Obrochta would score on a two-out error by Maverick pitcher Joey Danner.
Tampa would add its second run of the afternoon in the sixth inning. Sean O'Brien drew a walk, and would come home on a triple to the right-center fence by left fielder Michael Danner.
The Mavericks cut the Tampa lead in half with a two-out single by Garrett Woodward, which scored Nate Robertson. With two CMU runners on base, Joe Urso lifted starter David Heintz for Kevin McNorton. Pitching in his fifth game of the series, McNorton escaped after a grounder to shortstop Orlando Rivera.
For the second time in as many innings, Colorado Mesa came through with a two-out rally to knot the score at 2-2. With runners on first and second, Robertson came through with an RBI single to left field. A single followed, but Danner saved a run as he threw a strike to catcher Nick Tindall, who applied the tag for the third out of the inning.
Colorado Mesa came through again in the bottom of the ninth as it put runners on first and third with one out. The next Maverick hitter drove home the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly to lefty field, advancing CMU to the national championship game.
Heintz pitched 6.2 innings, allowing just three hits and no earned runs. He also finished with a season-high six strikeouts. McNorton (7-2), a workhorse throughout the tournament, went 2.0 innings in the final game after throwing five times in the series and each of the last three days.
Tampa ends the season with a school-record .931 winning percentage. The Sunshine State Conference and NCAA South Region champions posted 22 wins against nationally-ranked teams in 2014.