Tampa Ends Season In NCAA South Regional

Box score

PENSACOLA, Fla. - The University of Tampa (36-17) baseball team saw its 2011 season come to an end as Barry University (37-16) topped the Spartans by a 5-3 score in the NCAA South Regional from Jim Spooner Field on the campus of the University of West Florida.

The game was scoreless until Tampa struck in the bottom of the fifth on a two-out single by catcher Adam Pendleton. After a leadoff double by Eric Grabe, the junior from Ocala, Fla., advanced to third on a Damon Elder sacrifice bunt before scoring on the hit by Tampa's catcher.

The Buccaneers responded with a three-run sixth inning followed by a run in both the seventh and eighth innings. Barry capitalized on a pair of long-balls, coming off the bats of James Young and Manny Pedrozo.

Frank DeJiulio (5-4) made his first start in over a month and threw six strong innings for the Spartans. The junior threw 5.2 scoreless innings before being touched for the first Barry run of the night. In 6.0 innings, he finished with nine strikeouts for UT.

Grabe led Tampa at the plate as he notched two hits and scored both Spartan runs. He also started a ninth-inning rally where UT had the time-run at the plate.

Tampa finishes the 2011 campaign with a 36-17 record after finishing third in the Sunshine State Conference and being nationally-ranked for the entire season. This came after losing eight starters from 2010. UT has also surpassed the 30-win plateau in each of head coach Joe Urso's 11 seasons at the helm.