#5 Tampa Sweeps Away Stillman
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Stillman
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
|
Tampa
|
1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | X | 8 | 15 | 1 |
TAMPA, Fla. - The No. 5 University of Tampa baseball team (8-2) coasted to an 8-2 win over visiting Stillman College (4-8), completing the four-game series sweep of the Tigers. UT starter Eric Grabe two-hit Stillman over six innings of work and the Spartan offense rolled to its seventh straight win.
After Grabe shut down the Tigers 1-2-3 in the top half of the first, Pat Donahue opened up the bottom of the frame with a double to right. Donahue, who finished 3-for-5 on the afternoon, came around to score on a Raiko Alfonso single to put the Spartans on the board.
The following inning, UT tallied another run as Donahue drove in Trace Venegas from third base. Junior transfer Andrew Jones doubled to lead off the third and Damon Elder singled to put runners on the corners. Catcher Mike Bourdon plated Jones and Venegas drove in Elder to give the Spartans a comfortable 4-0 lead.
Bourdon, who went 3-for-4 in the game and 10-for-14 (.714) with five runs scored and three RBI during the series, tacked on another run during Tampa's four-run seventh to push the score to 8-1. Stillman managed a run in the ninth off reliever Justin Leith but couldn't amass the comeback they needed to overtake the Spartans.
Grabe (1-0) moved over to third base in the seventh inning after tossing six innings on the hill, allowing just two hits and one unearned run while walking just one and fanning three. Cody Davis followed up Grabe with two perfect innings with five of his six outs coming via strikeout. Josh Cagle (0-2) was tabbed with the loss for the Tigers.
The Spartans will head out on the road next weekend as they travel to Valdosta State University for a three-game set against the Blazers beginning on Friday. Livestats and a webcast will be available on 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 blAst, a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.