No. 6 Spartans to Take on No. 20 Saint Leo in SSC Face-Off

TAMPA, Fla. - After picking up a midweek win over NAIA powerhouse Embry Riddle, the No. 6 University of Tampa Spartans baseball team will host the visiting No. 20 Saint Leo University Lions. The two-day, three-game Sunshine State Conference series will begin Friday night at 6 p.m. from UT Baseball Field.

The Spartans are the nation's No. 6 team, and currently boast a 12-6 Sunshine State Conference record, ranking second among the highly competitive conference teams. Garnering an impressive 31-11 record, the Spartans' all-time record against Saint Leo is 102-30. During the 2014 season, the Spartans swept Saint Leo at the Lions' home field in Saint Leo, Fla.

The Spartans have two hitters posting a .400-plus batting average, including senior Brett Jones (.410) and junior Keaton Aldridge (.415). In addition, Tampa's roster boasts 10 more players with an average above .300 - Cody deNoyelles, Nick Flair, Giovanny Alfonzo, Nick Tindall, Ian Townsend, Casey Scoggins, Stephen Dezzi, Chris Pagliarulo, Andrew Amaro, and Joe Walsh.

Last week, Amaro was named the Sunshine State Conference Player of the Week, going 6-for-10 with three RBI, three runs, and a .667 on base percentage in a three game road series against No. 6 Florida Tech.

Tampa starting pitchers Brad Hencke (4.47 ERA), and Chase Sparkman (3.57 ERA) have led the Spartans so far this year. Last week, Sparkman was also honored as the SSC Pitcher of the Week, and was later named the NCBWA South Region Pitcher of the Week for a complete-game shutout performance against FIT in which he struck out four and allowed just six hits.

As a whole, the pitching staff has recorded 292 strikeouts, walking 119 batters in 369.2 innings pitched.

Saint Leo heads into the weekend series with a 32-11 overall record, maintaining a fifth-place standing in the Sunshine State Conference with a record of 12-9. The Lions ended the 2014 year with a third-place SSC finish and did not advance to the post season.

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.

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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