#20 Barry Overpowers #2 Tampa In Sweep

TAMPA, Fla. - The No. 2 University of Tampa baseball team suffered its first Sunshine State Conference series loss as it dropped Saturday's doubleheader to No. 20 Barry University. The Spartans (39-8, 18-3 SSC) lost two of three to the Buccaneers (27-13, 10-8 SSC) with Barry taking game one 8-7 and winning 14-10 in game two.

The Buccaneers got on UT starter Josh Bowman early when Matt Petty stroked a two-run shot over the left field wall to make it 2-0. A wild pitch and a pair of singles put three more runs on the board for Barry in the third, but the Spartans rebounded with a three-run bottom half to pull within two.

Patrick Donahue launched a two-run homer in the inning and Mike Schwartz added a sacrifice fly to make it just 5-3 Bucs. Barry put up another crooked number in the fourth, plating five runs to add to its lead, but Tampa stormed right back the following half-inning. Catcher Mike Blanke scored Devin Gonzalez from third on an infield single and centerfielder Tyler Cox stroked a two-out, two-RBI double down the right-field line to make it 10-6 in favor of Barry.

Tampa got one in the fifth and three in the ninth off back-to-back homers from Larry Walicki and Mike Blanke, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Buccaneers.

Game one was another back-and-forth affair between the two nationally-ranked squads. Tampa got on the board first with a two-run second inning. After Donahue singled and Trace Venegas doubled, shortstop Correy Figueroa doubled home a run for his first of three hits in the game. Cox then lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to plate Venegas to make it 2-0 in favor of the Spartans.

Barry countered in the third with a run on a Petty single and two runs in the fourth off a Nick Shaw double to give BU the 3-2 lead. Tampa, however, took back the lead in the bottom of the frame when Figueroa and Cox played a runner each with a single and a groundout, respectively.

With the Spartans up 4-3 in the seventh, the Buccaneers took advantage of a Tampa error to take the 5-4 lead and the eventual win. Tom Meagher (6-1) was tabbed with his first loss of the season after giving up two runs in relief. T.J. Mullins (4-3) earned the win for Barry and Tyler King (2) earned the save.

The Spartans remain home next weekend to take on conference rival Florida Southern College in a critical regional matchup. The first game of the three-game series is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. followed by a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday.

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.