Spartans Meet Tars in Three-Game Homestand

TAMPA, Fla. - Continuing their Sunshine State Conference campaign, the No. 8 University of Tampa baseball team will face-off against the Rollins College Tars in a three game home set. Tampa looks to gain ground in a competitive SSC as they sit fourth in the conference behind Florida Southern, Barry University and Nova Southeastern.

UT topped Saint Leo University two games to one in their weekend matchup as Justin Leith and Frank DeJiulio picked up wins as the Spartans swept the Saturday doubleheader but dropped the Friday night April Fool's day folly. Third baseman Eric Grabe continued his tear as he picked up eight hits and 10 plate-appearances to increase his impressive season batting average to .438.

The Tars lost their last conference series against Lynn University, picking up a win in the second game of the weekend twinbill. Rollins snapped a five game losing streak with the key victory as a 15 hit battery powered the Tars past the Fighting Knights with a 15-7 final mark.

The Spartans own a hefty lead in the all-time series record against the Tars, winning 88 with 26 losses and one tie. The three game homestand will begin Friday at the UT Baseball Field with a 6 p.m. start time. The two will finish up the series with a Saturday doubleheader with the first match slotted for a 3 p.m. start while the second game is tentatively at 6 p.m.

Live stats as well as a live video webcast will be provided 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 blAst, a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.