UT Set to Welcome Defending National Champions for Three-Game Series

TAMPA, Fla. - A matchup featuring the previous two national champions is set for this weekend as the University of Tampa baseball team is set to host 2014 national champion Southern Indiana University. The series is set to begin on Friday at 6 p.m., followed by a Saturday game at 6 p.m., with the finale set for Sunday at 11 a.m.

Since 2006, the two programs have combined for five national championships, with USI taking the crown in 2010 and 2014. The Spartans won it all in 2006, 2007 and 2013.

The Spartans are the nation's No. 1 team according to three of the four polls, with Southern Indiana earning the top-ranking in the other. Both Perfect Game, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and D2 Baseball News have head coach Joe Urso's squad in the top spot. Collegiate Baseball Newspaper has UT at No. 2, behind USI.

UT is currently 6-0 on the season following sweeps over Bentley University and Georgia College. In those games, the Spartans have outscored their opponents by a score of 53-20 while hitting .376 with a 2.42 team ERA.

The Spartans have three hitters with .400-plus batting averages, led by junior second baseman Cody deNoyelles (.478), junior centerfielder Casey Scoggins (.471) and senior catcher Nick Tindall (.450). Senior Stephen Dezzi and deNoyelles have both slugged a pair of home runs as Nick Flair leads all Spartans with eight RBI.

Junior ace David Heintz have carried over his success from 2014 as he is 1-0 on the year with a perfect 0.00 ERA intact. In 11.0 innings, Heintz has registered 11 strikeouts with just one walk. Opposing hitters are just .135 versus the Spartan right-hander. Lefties Chase Sparkman (1-0, 3.52 ERA) and Brad Hencke (1-0, 1.00 ERA) have served as the other starters as relievers Zac Favre (3.0 IP, 1 SV, 1 H, 0 R) and Logan LaPace (4.0 IP, 1 SV, 6 K, 2.25 ERA) have been effective through the first six games.

This will be the 2015 season opener for the Screaming Eagles, who bring the momentum of being the defending national champions. In 2014, USI was 49-13 and also won the NCAA Midwest Regional. In Cary, N.C., the Screaming Eagles defeated Tampa 4-3 in the opening game and added victories over Lander, Minnesota State-Mankato and Colorado Mesa to claim the top prize. The national championship game was decided in 12 innings as Matt Bowles drew a one-out walk to push across the go-ahead run in the top of the inning. Matt Chavarria, who came in to begin the ninth inning, pitched four scoreless innings to earn the victory in a game that tied the record as the longest NCAA Division II title game.

Junior centerfielder Hamilton Carr led USI in hitting for the second-straight season last year, batting .347. Junior rightfielder Kyle Kempf followed Carr with a .342 average, but had a team-high 51 runs scored, 21 doubles, four home runs, and 36 RBI.

The USI pitching staff will have a new look to the starting rotation after the graduation of three of the four 2014 starting pitchers. The lone returning starter is senior right-hander Ben Wright, who was 7-3 with a 2.00 ERA in 15 starts last season, including the national championship game. Wright is 18-12 and has a 2.51 ERA in his first three seasons with the Eagles.

The Eagles return six of the 10 starters from the line-up that took the field in the 2014 national championship game. Returning are senior right-hander Wright, junior catcher Ryan Bertram, junior first baseman Andrew Cope, senior shortstop/closer Chavarria, junior centerfielder Carr and junior rightfielder Kempf

Tampa and Southern Indiana have met a total of two times in their respective histories as both have come in the national championship series. Previous to last season's meeting, Tampa defeated Southern Indiana by an 8-1 score in the national semifinals of the 2007 championships. The Spartans would advance to defeat Columbus State to win the fifth of six NCAA Championships.

Tampa has been nationally ranked for 21 consecutive seasons dating back to 1994. Additionally, the Spartans have been a main-stay in the top-10 under Urso as they have been in the top-10 each of his 15 seasons at the helm. This also marks the sixth time that the Spartans are a preseason No. 1, and the second straight. The Spartans also own a string of 165 consecutive weeks in the national rankings.

Live stats and video will be available for all games. Fans may follow live stats at Tampa.Statbroadcast.com, or TampaStats.com on a mobile device. Fans may also watch live through TampaSpartans.tv.

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