Tampa Fools Florida Tech in Nonconference Matchup
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Tampa
|
1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 2 |
|
Florida Tech
|
1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 0 |
MELBOURNE, Fla. - The top-ranked University of Tampa baseball team defeated Florida Tech 5-3 in a non-conference meeting Tuesday night. The Spartans improve to 32-2 on the season while the Panthers dip to a 19-16 record.
The duo of Stephen Dezzi and Jacob Tillotson led the attack for Tampa, as the two were the lone Spartan batters to record multiple hits in the contest. Each recorded a RBI and scored a run while Tyler Ding recorded a hit and a pair of RBI.
UT began the attack as Giovanny Alfonzo stole a pair of bases to put him within 90 feet of scoring. A sacrifice fly from Ding gave Tampa its first lead of the contest at 1-0. FIT mirrored in the home half of the inning, scoring Andrew Bartlett in familiar sacrifice fly fashion.
The Panthers added another pair of runs in second, as a string of key plays gave FIT a 3-1 advantage.
The Spartans rebounded with a two runs in the third. Senior Tillotson doubled down the right field line to allow Dezzi, to record his RBI and then come around to score thanks to a Ding base knock. Tampa ended the frame with a knotted 3-3 score.
UT claimed the lead in the seventh with more heroics from the Spartan second-baseman. Tillotson scored Tyler York. York began the inning by scoring catcher Nick Tindall as Tampa ended the inning with a 5-3 lead.
Right-hander Logan LaPace (2-0) picked up the win in his one-plus innings of work. The sophomore scattered five hits while striking out a pair of batters. Reliever Kevin McNorton notched his eighth save of the season as the pitcher threw the final three innings to close out the game.
Panthers hurler Luke Lorah (1-2) was credited with the loss, throwing over an inning while allowing a pair of runs on one hit.
Tampa will welcome future Sunshine State Conference member, Palm Beach Atlantic University for a weekend regional series. The first game will be played Friday at 6 p.m. followed by a Saturday doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Live stats as well as a live video webcast will be made available through www.tampaspartans.com.
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