Josh Bowman Throws No-hitter to Lead Spartans Past Eckerd
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The sixth-ranked University of Tampa baseball team (22-4-1, 3-2 SSC) swept a doubleheader against Sunshine State Conference opponent Eckerd College (10-19, 2-9 SSC) behind two dominant pitching performances by Scott Chapman and Josh Bowman. The Spartans took the first game 6-3, and won the second game 7-0 behind Bowman's no-hitter, the fourth in school history.
Tampa opened the scoring in the first game with one run in the top of the second when Nolan Brannon scored from third on a fielder's choice by Stephen Merino. Leading 1-0 after three innings, the Spartans opened a 4-0 lead with three runs in the top of the fourth, highlighted by a two-run single by Paul Cruz.
With the Spartans leading 5-1 heading into the bottom of the eighth, Eckerd's Tim Lorek cut the lead to 5-3 with a two-run home run to left center, his second of the season. That was all the Tritons could push across in the inning, as Spartan closer Anthony Perez came in with two outs and shut the door, throwing the last inning and two-thirds to pick up his eighth save of the season.
Chapman picked up his sixth win of the season in game one, throwing seven innings, allowing one run on seven hits, walking one and striking out six.
Tampa left little doubt to the outcome of game two, scoring all its runs in the first three innings. After Cruz scored on a sacrifice fly by Brannon in the first, the Spartans scored three runs in each of the second and third innings to open a 7-0 lead through three.
Steven Broschofsky led off the second inning with his first triple of the season, taking a 0-1 pitch and hitting it deep to left center for a leadoff three-bagger. After he scored on an error to put Tampa up 2-0, the Spartans added two more runs on a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly.
With the Spartans up 4-0 in the third, and following a one out walk by Brannon, Ryan Williams tripled to right center, scoring Brannon and putting the Spartans up 5-0. Tampa added two more runs on an RBI double by Broschofsky and a one-run single by Garrett Maines to take a 7-0 lead heading into the bottom of the third.
Bowman went the distance for the Spartans in the nightcap, throwing the fourth no-hitter in Tampa history. The 6-2 200-pound freshman threw seven innings while allowing no runs without surrendering a hit, walking three and striking out 11. Bowman picked up his second win of the season to move to 2-0 on the season.
Broschofsky and Brett McKean led the Spartans with three hits each on the day, as McKean tied a career high with his two hits in game two. Cruz led the Spartans with three RBIs on the day to take sole possession of the team lead in RBIs with 24.
Tampa returns to the field tomorrow at 12 pm in St. Petersburg for the series finale against Eckerd.