Spartans Bring the Bats in Series Opener with Sailfish
Tampa slugged 19 runs on 22 hits in the victory.
TAMPA, Fla. – The third-ranked University of Tampa baseball team welcomed in the Palm Beach Atlantic University Sailfish Friday night at the UT Baseball Field. UT tallied 19 runs on 22 hits defeating PBA by a final score of 19-4. The victory improves the Spartans to 34-7 while the Sailfish drop to 19-25.
The Spartans would add two more runs in the bottom of the second inning as Chris Gaffney led the inning off with his third home run of the season. Scoggins would then later score with a two-out RBI from Rivera.
After a scoreless third inning, UT would erupt in the bottom of the fourth inning as they sent 14 batters to the plate, scoring nine runs on seven hits. Chacon provided the big bat in the inning, as the first baseman blasted a grand slam to leftfield to give Tampa an 11-1 lead. The Spartans would also capitalize on PBA errors as they scored four unearned runs to end the inning with a 14-1 lead.
Scoggins and Lee would serve as the catalyst for the Spartans offense as the top two batters in the lineup each scored four runs in the game. UT would also steal five bases in the game with Scoggins stealing three of them.
Chacon would lead the team offensively as the first baseman would go 2-for-3 with five RBI.
Christopher Williams earned his fifth start of the season going a solid five innings. He would earn his eighth win of the season, allowing one earned run and striking out eight batters.
Chris Rubin was effective from the bullpen, as the right-handed pitcher went three innings, allowing no runs and just two hits. He would also punch out two batters in the outing.
Bryan Tarricone threw the final inning for the Spartans allowing one hit and one run. As a pitching staff, UT allowed just two earned runs and struck out 10 batters.
The two teams will conclude the series tomorrow with a doubleheader. Game one will begin at 1:00 p.m. and the team will host a senior day ceremony between games one and two.
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