No. 1 Tampa Welcomes Stillman for Regional Series
TAMPA, Fla. - Coming off a three-game sweep of Georgia Regents University, the No. 1 University of Tampa baseball team is set to host the Stillman College Tigers for a three-game series on Friday and Saturday.
The series will span over two days, beginning with a doubleheader on Friday at 4 p.m. and ending with a single game on Saturday at 1 p.m. Both contests will take place at UT Baseball Field on the campus of the Unviersity of Tampa.
After taking two of three against the 2014 Division II National Champions, Southern Indiana, the Spartans are the nation's No. 1 team across the rankings. Boasting an 11-1 record, the Spartans earned the top number of votes in the Perfect Game, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper polls.
Tampa heads into Friday's regional contest after sweeping the Georgia Regents University Jaguars, winning by scores of 11-3, 10-4, and 13-4.
The Spartans have five hitters posting a .400-plus batting average. Ty Cooler (.571) and Brett Jones (.467) lead the way, while Nick Flair (.423), Casey Scoggins (.405), and Nick Tindall (.400) follow with over 40 at-bats each.
Tampa's pitching put eight pitchers on the mound during the Georgia Regent series, with Chris Frosch and Zac Favre allowing no runs. David Heintz (3-0), Dylan Barrow (1-0), and Brad Hencke (2-0) earned the three wins on the weekend.
Stillman walks into the series with a 1-11 record, and finished the 2014 season with a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Championship. The Tigers wrapped up the 2014 schedule with a 30-21 record and a trip to the NCAA Regional Tournament, which Tampa hosted.
No. 1 Tampa owns a 20-2 all-time record against Stillman College, and knocked the Tigers out of the NCAA tournament race last year.
Tampa has been nationally ranked for 21 consecutive seasons dating back to 1994. Additionally, the Spartans have been a mainstay in the top-10 under Urso as they have been in the top-10 each of his 15 seasons at the helm. This also marks the sixth time that the Spartans are a preseason No. 1, and the second straight. The Spartans also own a string of 167 consecutive weeks in the national rankings.
Live stats and video will be available for all games. Fans may follow live stats at Tampa.Statbroadcast.com, or TampaStats.com on a mobile device. Fans may also watch live through TampaSpartans.tv.
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