Spartans Hold Steady Atop Regional Poll as National Rankings Also Released
TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Tampa baseball team remains among the nation's top teams as it is currently as high as No. 3 in the latest national rankings. UT is also ranked No. 1 in the NCAA South Region poll for the second straight week.
Among South Region teams, the Spartans are listed ahead of Delta State, Florida Tech, Alabama-Huntsville, West Florida, Barry, Saint Leo and Lynn. The top six teams at the conclusion of the regular season will earn an invitation to the 2013 NCAA South Regional. The winner of the Sunshine State Conference, Gulf South Conference and Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference will each earn an automatic bid to the regional.
Tampa is also in the top-six in all four polls, as the Spartans are listed at No. 3 by College Baseball News and D2 Baseball News. UT also comes in at No. 5 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA) poll and No. 6 according to Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
Fellow NCAA South Region opponent Delta State University is No. 1 in two of the four polls, though it trails Tampa in the meaningful regional poll due in part to UT's strength of schedule advantage.
Tampa is now 36-10 on the season and has won all seven Sunshine State Conference series. The Spartans are 16-5 in league player and also carry a 20-5 non-conference showing with wins over nationally-ranked Franklin Pierce and defending national champion West Chester. UT now needs one win to clinch its second consecutive league crown.
The Spartans are hitting .318 as a team and currently have seven starters hitting over .300, led by Tyler Ding's .370 clip. Michael Danner also has a team-high 40 RBI while hitting .369. UT has slugged 37 home runs this season, with 13 Spartans connecting on at least one long ball.
Tampa's pitching staff has been equally impressive with a team earned run average (ERA) of 3.43. Matt Abramson has a 0.98 ERA and 6-1 record as Mike Adams is 5-0 with a 1.47 ERA to go with a team-high 64 strikeouts. Caleb Kellogg and Adams share the role as the team's closer, registering six saves apiece.
As a team, Tampa ranks among NCAA leaders in several categories, including scoring (16th, 7.7), runs (17th, 361), hits (19th, 501), doubles per game (21st, 2.13), doubles (21st, 100), home runs per game (16th, 0.83), home runs (15th, 39), slugging percentage (23rd, .470), walks (11th, 206), hit by pitch (4th, 93) and on-base percentage (14th, .421).
Jacob Tillotson is 17th in sacrifice flies (6) while Zach Gawrych (3rd, 25) and Connor Obrochta (10th, 19) are among national leaders in hit by pitch. Adams ranks in strikeouts per nine innings (10th, 11.76), walks per nine innings (13th, 0.92), ERA (15th, 1.47), strikeout-to-walk ratio (3rd, 12.8) and WHIP (5th, 0.82).
Tampa has now been ranked for 144 consecutive weeks, marking a program record. Ranked every week since 2005, the Spartans have been in the top-5 in each of the past 11 seasons.
UT will close out the 2013 regular season with a weekend series against SSC opponent Lynn University. The three-game series will start Friday at 6 p.m., and conclude with a Saturday doubleheader at 1 p.m. Live stats and a video webcast will be available through TampaSpartans.tv.
Click here for Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll
Click here for College Baseball Lineup poll