Spartans Lay Claim to Top Spot in All Four National Polls
TAMPA, Fla. - Coming off an impressive offensive display in a sweep of defending Sunshine State Conference champion Barry University, the University of Tampa baseball team is now ranked No. 1 in all four national polls.
Among the four polls, Tampa is ranked No. 1 by College Baseball Lineup, D2 Baseball News, National Collegiate Baseball Writers of American (NCBWA) and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
The Spartans are winners of 11 of its last 12 games and most recently took all three games of an SSC series against Barry by a combined score of 35-2.
Tampa has been particularly impressive on the mound, with a team earned run average (ERA) of 2.44. UT has 10 of its 11 pitchers with a sub-4.00 ERA and four below 2.00.
The Spartans are now ranked sixth in the nation in team ERA, and are fourth in lowest walks per nine innings at 2.38. Additionally, UT's .824 winning percentage is sixth in the country.
Among individuals, Eric Grabe is fifth in the nation with seven sacrifice flies and Preston Packrall is now 17th with seven saves.
UT has been ranked the entire season and has now been represented in the national poll for a program-record 122 consecutive weeks.
The Spartans will host SSC rival Florida Southern College on Friday to begin a three-game set. The series will conclude with a 1 p.m., doubleheader on Saturday. Live stats and a video webcast will be available through TampaSpartans.tv.
Click here for College Baseball Lineup poll