#4 Spartans Drop Two Against #5 Muleriders
TAMPA, Fla. - The fourth-ranked University of Tampa baseball team took losses in both games of Saturday's doubleheader against No. 5 Southern Arkansas. The Spartans (4-2) fell in game one 7-5 and dropped game two 8-1. The Muleriders improve to 4-1 on the season with the victories.
In the first contest, the Spartans got out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning when junior Jared Simon hit his first of two home runs in the game.
Tampa starter Josh Bowman tossed six solid innings before running into trouble in the seventh with a 2-1 lead. Aaron Gerbasi entered for Bowman with one out and two on base in the inning and allowed a home run to SAU's Logan Williams to give the Muleriders a 3-2 advantage.
Southern Arkansas tacked on three more runs in the inning to push the score to 7-2 before Simon hit his second blast-this time a three-run shot-pulling the Spartans to within two. Following a Tyler Cox double in the ninth, Brad Roberts continued his torrid hitting with an RBI double to make it 7-6, but the late rally fell just short.
SAU's Hayden Simpson got the win while Bowman was tabbed with his first loss of the year.
In the second game, the Spartan offense managed just one run off Southern Arkansas' Matt Speake, who went the full seven innings while allowing just three hits. Tampa's AJ Pinera took the loss in a game that featured several defensive miscues by the Spartans. Pinera allowed six runs, one earned, while tossing four innings.
Tampa's lone run came off a Patrick Donahue double with two aboard in the fourth, but Speake proved to be too much for the Spartans.
The four-game series concludes tomorrow starting at 11 a.m. The two squads will finish Friday's rain-delayed game before the series finale. The first game will begin in the seventh inning.
Live stats and a webcast will be available through www.tampaspartans.com.
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