
Spartans Hang On to 9-7 Win Over Franklin Pierce
TAMPA, Fla. - The No. 3 University of Tampa baseball team held on to win a 9-7 contest over Franklin Pierce University, despite a six run ninth from the visiting Ravens. The Spartans improve to 21-4 on the season while FPU drops to 10-9.
Spartan backstop Adam Pendleton continued his success, hitting 2-for-3 with a RBI on the game. Two other UT batters recorded multiple hits in Zach Alvord and Jake Schrader, as the latter recorded a pair of RBI in the contest.
Senior B.J. Zimmerman roped a two RBI home run in the late innings while Jacob Tillotson recorded two sacrifice flies for his squad.
Tampa started their offense in the first as Schrader singled up the middle to score Connor Obrochta. Obrochta led off the inning with a walk and hustled home from second on the play.
The Spartans broke open the game in the third, unloading for five runs and giving the home team a 6-0 advantage. Sean O'Brien set the table with a double as Schrader brought him around to score with a two-bagger of his own. A trio of singles recorded three RBI as Zach Gawrych, Pendleton and Alvord each recorded a RBI single to give Tampa a 6-0 lead after three full innings.
Outfielder Zimmerman launched his two-run shot to the right field foul pole, ending the Spartan scoring at a towering 9-1 deficit against the visiting Ravens.
FPU entered the ninth inning facing a 9-1 margin, but mounted a rally by tacking on six runs.
UT starting pitcher Brad Hencke (2-0) earned the win, tossing five complete innings while scattering six hits without surrendering a run. Franklin Pierce hurler Vladimir Camacho(0-2), starting the first five for the Ravens, allowing six runs off eight hits for the loss.
The Spartans will welcome Sunshine State Conference foe Rollins College for a weekend series with first game set for Friday at 6 p.m. at the UT Baseball Field. Live stats as well as a live video webcast will be available through www.tampaspartans.tv.
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