No. 2 Tampa Drops Saturday Doubleheader to No. 6 Nova Souteastern

Box score

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The No. 2 University of Tampa Spartans baseball team dropped both games of a Saturday doubleheader to the No. 6 Nova Southeastern Sharks. After falling by a 10-5 score in game one, the Spartans lost a 7-6 walkoff in game two.

Prior to the weekend series, the Spartans had not lost two games in a Sunshine State Conference series since the 2012 season and had not been swept since 2011, when Tampa dropped a three game series to the then-No. 10 Barry Buccaneers.

Senior lefty Chase Sparkman started on the mound for the Spartans in game one, tossing 3.2 innings and allowing eight runs on 12 hits before senior Taylor Brookes took the mound in relief. The reliever threw 3.1 innings, allowing two runs on three hits, and junior righty Zac Favre wrapped up the outing with no hits and no runs in one complete inning. The pitching staff struck out six batters in the contest, walking two.

It was the No. 6 Sharks who jumped on the board first in the first game of the day, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning off two homeruns.

The Spartans responded in the top of the second with three runs of their own, however, forcing a 3-2 lead. Giovanny Alfonzo led off the inning with a solo homer, and Ian Townsend followed with a double to left field, taking third on an NSU wild pitch. With a runner on the corner, Cody deNoyelles singled to right field, tying the game at 2-2. Two outs later, deNoyelles took third on a wild pitch and scored on the following RBI single from Casey Scoggins.

Nova Southeastern tied the score again in the bottom of the third inning, and after a scoreless outing in the fourth for the Spartans, the Sharks appeared in the bottom o the fourth to rally for five runs and take an 8-3 lead.

The No. 6 Sharks tacked on another in the bottom of the fifth inning, extending their lead to 9-3. After a scoreless sixth inning, however, the Spartans came out in the top of the seventh to score one run off a pinch-hit homerun from Chris Pagliarulo.

The Sharks tacked on a run in the bottom of the same inning, extending the lead to 10-4. Tampa responded in the top of the eighth, when deNoyelles picked up an RBI single that allowed Joe Walsh to score. Despite this late offensive effort, the Sharks took home the first game by a 10-5 score.

The second game of the day was another homerun battle, as the Spartans recorded four homers to the Sharks' two. Despite the strength of the UT offense, however, NSU took home the 7-6 victory.

The No. 2 Spartans got on the scoreboard early in the loss, scoring a run in the top of the first inning off a Stephen Dezzi solo homerun.

After two scoreless at-bats, Nova Southeastern took to the scoreboard in the bottom of the third, scoring two runs on three singles and a Tampa error.

Trailing by one, Tampa came out in the top of the fourth to tie the score at 2-2 when Chris Pagliarulo sent a solo homer over the left-centerfield wall.

The fifth inning featured a two-run effort on both sides of the scoreboard, as Tampa's Tindall blasted a two-run homer in the top of the inning, and NSU's Justin Garcia followed suit with a two-run homerun in the Sharks' at-bat.

With the score tied at 4-4 through five complete, both teams went scoreless in the sixth and seventh innings, but in the eighth, Tampa forced a 5-4 lead on an RBI single from Pagliarulo.

The lead was short-lived, however, as the Sharks responded in the bottom of the eighth with two runs on a single swing from Kavan Thompson.

Trailing by one going into the top of the ninth, the Spartans tied the game at 6-6 with a solo homer from Ian Townsend. Despite Tampa's offensive response, the Sharks refused defeat, as NSU's Michael Hernandez blasted a walk-off homerun over the left-centerfield wall to give the Sharks another SSC victory.

Junior Brad Hencke started the second game of the doubleheader for the Spartans, throwing 4.1 innings and allowing three runs on eight hits. Junior righty Dylan Barrow took the mound in relief during the fifth, throwing 3.1 innings and allowing three runs on two hits.

Jake Mielock closed out the bottom of the eighth and appeared in the bottom of the ninth. Throwing one complete inning, the sophomore allowed just one run on two hits and was awarded the loss. As a pitching staff, the Spartans struck out eight Sharks in the outing.

On the day, the Spartans recorded 18 hits.

The No. 2 Spartans will return to action on Tuesday, April 7 when they host the visiting Southeastern University Fire for a midweek night contest. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. from UT Baseball Field. Live stats will be available through Tampa.Statbroadcast.com.

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