UT Starts Series Against Nova With A Bang

Box score

TAMPA, Fla. - The No. 16 University of Tampa baseball team continued to score double digits, this time posting a 21-7 victory over Sunshine State Conference opponent Nova Southeastern. The Spartans (20-5, 4-0 SSC) and Sharks (9-12, 1-3 SSC) will conclude the conference series tomorrow with an 11 a.m. doubleheader.

The Spartans scored twice in the first inning, before breaking it open in the second. With the bases loaded and one out, Brad Roberts took the first pitch of the at-bat over the left field wall for a grand slam to put Tampa up 6-0.

Devin Gonzalez plated Mike Schwartz three batters later with a single through the right side before Larry Walicki blasted an 0-1 pitch to center for his third homer of the season. Walicki finished the contest 3-for-5 with three RBI while Schwartz finished 2-for-2 with five runs scored.

In the seventh, center fielder Dylan Brown added a bomb of his own when he stroked a solo shot over the netting in left field. Brown, along with Jared Simon, also had three hits on the day. After coming on in the eighth in the field, Dan Catalano added a home run of his own in the bottom half of the frame to put Tampa up 21-7.

A.J. Pinera started on the hill for the Spartans and went five complete for the win. Pinera (3-1) gave up four runs on five hits before exiting. Nick Avila (2-3) was tabbed with the loss for the Sharks.

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