#20 Spartans Cruise Past Tigers In Series Opener

Box score

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - A first-inning grand slam off the bat of Jared Simon sparked the No. 20 University of Tampa baseball team's offense en route to a 9-0 victory over Stillman College in Friday's series opener. The Spartans (7-3) and Tigers (3-7) will continue the four-game series with a doubleheader tomorrow beginning at 1 p.m. ET.

Tampa got out to a quick lead in the contest. After adding four in the first thanks to the long ball by Simon, the Spartans added three more runs in the following inning. With Mike Schwartz and Brad Roberts on second and third, respectively, catcher Mike Blanke ripped a single up the middle to plate two. Blanke came around to score two batters later thanks to a sacrifice fly by Trace Venegas.

Sean Bierman took the hill for the Spartans, throwing five complete innings while striking out six Tiger hitters. Bierman (2-1) allowed no runs and didn't walk a batter before Carmine Giardina took over in the sixth. Giardina (1) allowed just three hits through four innings, striking out seven, to earn his first save of the season.

Tampa tacked on two more runs in the game, one coming in the fourth and one in the ninth, to seal the win. Ryan McVay took the loss for the Tigers. McVay (1-2) threw six innings, allowing ten hits while giving up eight runs, but just five earned.

The two teams will face off again tomorrow for a 1 p.m. ET doubleheader before finishing the series on Sunday afternoon. Live stats will be available through www.tampaspartans.com. Fans may also follow University of Tampa athletics on Twitter (www.twitter.com/utspartans) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/tampaspartans). UT also offers eScores, a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.