Spartan Baseball Set for Opening Weekend
TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Tampa baseball team is set to begin their title defense this weekend as they welcome in three teams into the UT Baseball Field. Last season, the Spartans managed to win their eighth NCAA Division II national championship, defeating Colorado Mesa University 3-1 in the championship game in Cary, North Carolina
The Matchups: No. 1 University of Tampa Spartans vs. No. 7 University of Mount Olive Trojans.
No. 1 University of Tampa Spartans vs. Queens University of Charlotte Royals
No. 1 University of Tampa Spartans vs. No. 15 Georgia College Bobcats.
Date/Time: Friday, February 1st vs. Mount Olive at 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 2nd vs. Queens at 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, February 3rd vs. Georgia College at 3:00 p.m.
Series History: Against the Trojans of Mount Olive, the Spartans hold a 2-1 advantage with Mount Olive winning their lone matchup last season.
Saturday will be the first time Tampa and Queens will faceoff.
Against Georgia College, Tampa leads the series 53-21, holding a six-game winning streak over the Bobcats. Over the last 10 meetings, UT holds an 8-2 advantage.
About the Spartans: The Spartans enter the 2020 season as the nation's top-ranked team according to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America (NWBCA) preseason poll. The Spartans were also the unanimous choice to win the Sunshine State Conference this year. Returning for the Spartans will be the National Championship Most Outstanding Player, Jacinto Arredondo. Arredondo finished the year with a 4-1 record, pitching 44.1 innings and racking up 47 strikeouts on the year. Also returning for the Spartans will be Drew Ehrhard. The junior infielder is coming off a year where he recorded a .302 batting average and finished second on the team with 115 assists. Nick Derr is returning for Tampa coming off a season where he hit collected 51 hits, including eight home runs, which was second on the squad.
About the Trojans: Mount Olive had an overall record of 31-19 last year with their season ending in the NCAA DII Southeast Regional with a 4-3 loss to North Greenville. They were selected to finish second in the South Atlantic Conference preseason poll.
About the Royals: Queens finished the 2019 season with a record of 14-30 and 5-19 in conference play.
About the Bobcats: Georgia College finished last season with an overall of 26-21 and 15-13 in conference. Their season ended in the Peach Belt Conference tournament against top seed North Georgia. They have been selected to finish fourth in the preseason poll for the Peach Belt Conference.