Flair and Co. Propel No. 1 Tampa to Series Win over Fla. Southern

LAKELAND, Fla. - After falling to the Florida Southern Mocs in the Sunshine State Conference series opener on Friday night, the No. 1 University of Tampa Spartans returned on Saturday to defeat the Mocs in two games and take home the series. After rallying for a 15-5 victory in the first game of the afternoon, the Spartans continued their rally into game two, which featured an 11-5 Tampa win.

Senior lefty Chase Sparkman took the mound for Tampa in the Spartans' first game of the day, tossing 6.2 innings and allowing five runs on ten hits. The starter struck out three in the appearance, and earn his fifth win of the season, improving to a flawless 5-0 on the year.

Senior righty Taylor Brookes was the only Spartan to appear in relief during the first contest, throwing 2.1 innings and allowing no runs on two hits.

In addition to Tampa's solid pitching, the offense was unstoppable, scoring 15 runs on 17 hits and leaving just five runners on base in just the first game of the afternoon.

The Spartans jumped on the board quickly and efficiently, scoring two in the top of the first to take the defining lead of the game. In the second inning, however, Tampa tacked on seven more runs to force a 9-0 lead. Florida Southern was able to rally for three runs in the bottom of the third and two in the bottom of the seventh, but by then it was too late for the Mocs. Despite a hefty lead, Tampa picked up four more runs in the top of the seventh inning and tacked on one and in both the eighth and the ninth for a 15-5 victory.

Andrew Amaro, Casey Scoggins, Nick Flair, Cody deNoyelles, and Nick Tindall all recorded nultiple hits in the first game of the afternoon, while Giovanny Alfonzo, Stephen Dezzi, Ian Townsend, Brett Jones, and Chris Pagliarulo each tallied one hit apiece. In addition, Nick Flair, Cody deNoyelles, and Stephen Dezzi blasted homeruns in the effort.

The offensive rally continued into the final game of the series, as the Spartans rallied for an 11-5 victory and a Saturday sweep.

It was junior lefty David Hencke who took the mound for the Spartans in the series' final game. The Florida native tossed four complete innings, allowing two runs on five hits and striking out two before junior Dylan Barrow came in for relief duties. The junior reliever threw 1.1 innings total, allowing one run on three hits, and earned the win for the contest.

Lefty Michael Calkins finished up the game for the Spartans pitching staff, tossing 3.2 innings and allowing two runs on four hits. The junior struck out four and walked none in the outing.

Tampa jumped on the scoreboard first in the day's second game as well, picking up a run in the top of the second inning thanks to a Stephen Dezzi solo homer. The Mocs responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the same inning, but a Nick Flair two-run shot in the top of the third gave the Spartans a 3-1 lead.

The Mocs scored another solo run in the bottom of the fourth inning to bring the score to 3-2, but the Spartans were just getting warmed up. In the top of the fifth, junior Nick Flair blasted another two-run homer, his third of the day. With a 5-0 lead in their favor, Tampa tacked on six more runs in the top of the seventh inning to go ahead significantly.

Florida Southern scored one run in the bottom of the sixth inning and rallied for two in the bottom of the ninth, but it was Tampa who cruised to the 11-5 victory and improved to 3-3 in Sunshine State Conference play.

The contest looked much like the first game for the Spartans, as nearly every starter recorded a hit in the effort. Flair and Alfonzo led the team with three hits apiece in the outing, while Jones, Scoggins, and Dezzi all registered two hits apiece. In addition, deNoyelles, Tindall, Townsend, Pagliarulo and freshman Paxton Sims each recorded one hit.

Collectively, the Spartans registered 34 hits on the day, scoring 26 runs and walking seven times.

Top-ranked Tampa is set to hit the field again on Friday, March 20 when they head to West Palm Beach to take on Palm Beach Atlantic University in a three-game series. First pitch for the Friday night contest is scheduled for 6 p.m. Live stats will be available through Tampa.Statbroadcast.com.

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Game One Box Score

Game Two Box Score