Spartans Win 1,500th Game in Victory Over Eagles

Box score

TAMPA, Fla - The No. 6 University of Tampa Spartans the No. 18 Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Eagles (NAIA) by an 11-10 score, Tuesday evening from UT Baseball Field. The victory marked the 1,500th win in program history, pushing the Spartans to a 31-11 on the season.

The Spartans jumped on the scoreboard quickly, racking up four runs in the bottom of the first inning to take an early lead. Casey Scoggins, Giovanny Alfonzo, Cody deNoyelles, and Ian Townsend recorded hits in the inning, while Andrew Amaro reached on an error and Chris Pagliarulo walked. The visiting Eagles registered three errors in the first inning alone.

Embry Riddle responded in the top of the second inning, scoring seven runs on seven hits and one Tampa error, but the Spartans took back the lead in the bottom of the third with four runs on five hits and three more ERAU errors. The inning began with two consecutive singles from deNoyelles and Brett Jones, giving the Spartans two base runners. Chris Pagliarulo then stepped to the plate and blasted a single to left-centerfield, scoring deNoyelles and sending Jones to third. After Pagliarulo was thrown out on a steal attempt, Ian Townsend ripped an outfield single, scoring Jones. A double from freshman Michael Kleinman then scored Townsend, giving Tampa yet another runner. Kleinman took third on the next play - an error that allowed Scoggins to take first and second. With two runners in scoring position, Andrew Amaro picked up an RBI that scored Kleinman to end the inning with an 8-7 lead.

Tampa tacked on another run in the bottom of the fourth inning to go ahead 9-7, thanks to an RBI single from Townsend that scored deNoyelles.

The Eagles took back the lead in the top of the fifth, however, scoring three runs on three hits and a Tampa error.

Trailing 10-9, Tampa was unable to score again until the bottom of the eighth. It was Alfonzo who led off the inning with a one-out double to centerfield, and deNoyelles came up clutch with the following RBI double to center to tie the game at 10-10. After a groundout moved deNoyelles over to third, Pagliarulo blasted an RBI single up the middle to put the Spartans ahead, 11-10

Six pitchers took the mound for the Spartans in the victory, including Kasey Radke, Connor Andrews, Kevin Martin, Taylor Brookes, Brett Jones, and Zac Favre. The pitching staff combined for six strikeouts, as Farve earned the win, improving to 3-0 on the season.

Collectively, the Spartans recorded 17 hits in the outing, registering five extra-base hits and forcing six ERAU errors. Tampa also walked three times and deNoyelles picked up the lone stolen base of the evening.

The No. 6 Spartans will return to play on Friday, April 24 when they take on the Saint Leo Lions in another Sunshine State Conference series. First pitch for the single game is set for 6:00 p.m. from UT Baseball Field. Live stats will be available through Tampa.Statbroadcast.com.

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