Tampa Advances to NCAA Regional Finals With High-Scoring Win

Box score

TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Tampa (42-10) baseball team came out on the winning side of a high-scoring NCAA South Region semifinal affair with the University of West Florida (37-13) as the Spartans notched a 15-11 win.

The games featured a total of 18 runs in the seventh and eighth innings with both teams holding a lead during the span. A total of 11 pitchers were used as the game also featured 15 mound visits by the teams.

Tampa struck first with a run in the bottom of the second when B.J. Zimmerman scored on a dropped fly ball by the Argonauts. One inning later, Tampa would go up 3-0 when Tyler Ding smacked a two-run homer that also scored teammate Connor Obrochta.

West Florida would claw its way back, scoring twice in the fourth and again in the sixth to knot the contest at 3-3. UT would respond with a pair of runs in the bottom-half of the frame as Sean O'Brien and Zimmerman led off the Spartan-half with a single and walk respectively. After a Jake Schrader sacrifice bunt, O'Brien later scored on a balk and Tampa extended its lead to 5-3 when a Zach Gawrych sacrifice bunt scored Zimmerman.

The Argonauts answered with a big seventh-inning, scoring six runs to take their first lead of the day at 9-5. The top of the seventh inning included five hits and an error and was highlighted by a two-run home run by Josh Allen.

Trailing for the first time of the tournament, Tampa responded with six runs of their own in the seventh, with Zimmerman driving in a pair of runs. Ding and Adam Pendleton each added an RBI in the outburst.

With the Spartans leading 11-9, UWF evened the score again in the eighth as a pair of runs were crossed. The tie game was quickly tilted in Tampa's favor with a four-run eighth for UT. Zimmerman was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, giving Tampa a 12-11 lead as Zach Alvord then walked with the bases full. The Spartan scoring concluded when Pendleton hit a two-run single, giving his team a 15-11 advantage heading to the ninth.

Ding led the offensive attack with four hits, driving in two runs and scoring three. Zimmerman and Pendleton each finished with a pair of hits apiece as both drove in three runs. Zimmerman also scored a team-leading four runs while O'Brien scored three times.

Ben Brown started for head coach Joe Urso and threw the first 4.1 innings. He allowed two runs and struck out one. Mike Adams and Aaron Gerbasi each pitched in relief, getting no decisions. Gerbasi had a perfect inning with one strikeout. Matt Abramson pitched the final 2.0 innings and received the win to move to 7-1 on the season.

Tampa now advances to the NCAA South Regional final, which is set for Sunday at noon. The Spartans need just one win to advance to the 2013 NCAA Championships in Cary, N.C., which is scheduled for May 25-June 1 in Cary, N.C.

The rich Spartan history that included five national championships also includes 14 South Regional titles as UT is a win away from another trophy. Appearing in its 14th straight NCAA tournament, Tampa last won the regional in 2010.

UT will offer live stats and a video broadcast of the NCAA South regional Championship through TampaSpartans.tv.

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Click here for the official NCAA South Regional host web page