Baseball Honored in Senior Salute
TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Tampa Athletic Department would like to celebrate the careers and accomplishments of the baseball seniors for our final senior salute. Due to their season getting cut short, we will honor each student-athlete who will not get a normal senior salute at the end of the season.
The baseball team graduates nine seniors from the team this year: Jacinto Arredondo, Nick Derr, Christian Flint, Sam Freitas, Luis Medina, Mikey Navarrete, John Pichman, Bo Weiss, and Colton Widdows. These nine players have been outstanding in the contributions they have made toward the program and the school, most notably winning the NCAA Division II National Championship for Tampa just last year in 2019.
Jacinto Arredondo, a right handed pitcher from Center Hill, Florida, graduates from the University of Tampa with a degree in Liberal Studies. Previous to Tampa, Arredondo played two seasons at Wallace-Dothan Community College, and after transferring for his junior year, he led Tampa to the 2019 National Championship where he was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2019 Championship Series and a member of the All-Tournament Team. This year was shaping up to be another great one, as he threw 38 strikeouts in just nine appearances of the shortened season, only nine less strikeouts than the full 2019 season.
Another transfer to UT, Derr played at Florida State University where he appeared in 100 games for the Seminoles. After transferring for his junior year, the Utility Player from Lakewood Ranch, Florida, appeared in 51 games, hitting eight home runs on the season and helping to lead Tampa to their National Championship win. Derr's senior year included 68 at-bats. He led the Spartans in batting average with a .353 and recorded 24 hits while driving in eight RBI and 11 runs. He finished the season ranking ninth in the SSC in on-base percentage. Derr graduates fromm UT with a degree in Management.
2020 was Flint's first year as a Spartan, as the Shortstop from Delray Beach, Florida previously attended the University of Florida his junior year. During his shortened senior year, Flint had 63 at bats, registering 15 runs, 17 hits, and a home run while collecting seven RBI. His short career for the Spartans was still a great one, as he finished the season ranking fifth in the conference in triples and third in sacrifice bunts. The Delray Beach, Florida, native graduates from the University of Tampa with a degree in Education Sciences.
Freitas, a third baseman from Lawrenceville, Georgia, graduates from the University of Tampa with a degree in International Business. As a transfer from Florida Southwestern College, Freitas joined the Spartan squad during the 2019 season, playing in 50 games and accumulating an impressive list of awards. During his junior season, he won SSC player of the Week, earned a spot on the SSC Commissioner's Honor Roll, and won the DII ADA Academic Achievement Award. That same season he had 31 runs and 54 hits, recorded 25 RBI, and finished with a .310 batting average. Freitas redshirted the 2020 season.
Medina came to Tampa after transferring from the College of Central Florida after his sophomore season. The Tampa, Florida, native appeared in 17 games and had 30 plate appearances and 29 at-bats during his first season as a Spartan in 2019. He recorded eight hits, and finished with a batting average of .276. Medina did not participate in the shortened 2020 season as he received a redshirt. He will graduate from the University of Tampa with a degree in Sport Management.
A Miami, Florida, native, Navarrete graduates from the University of Tampa with a degree in Liberal Studies. The third baseman played two seasons for Tampa after transferring from Santa Fe College. In his senior season, he played in 21 games and recorded 21 hits. He drove in 10 RBI and scored nine runs during the year. A season highlight came against Florida Southern where he went 3-for-5 with 2 RBI. Navarrete finished the season ranking second in the SSC in sacrifice flies.
Pichaman, a first baseman and right handed pitcher for UT, graduates with a degree in Economics. The Palm Harbor, Florida, native has appeared in 31 games for the Spartans after transferring from the State College of Florida. In his senior season, he recorded nine hits, driving in seven RBI and scoring nine runs. He hit a three-run home run against Eckerd earlier this year (2/25) and finished the season ranking eighth in the SSC in sacrifice flies.
Bo Weiss graduates from the University of Tampa with a degree in Sport Management. The Castle Rock, Colorado native played two seasons at the University of North Carolina before transferring to UT as a junior. The right handed pitcher made 12 appearances and four starts during his time as a Spartan, and he finished his senior season ranking sixth overall in the SSC in saves. In the 202 season he recorded two saves in 9.0innings pitched while registering 12 strikeouts on the year.
Widdows, a Cybersecurity major from Palm harbor, Florida, graduates from the University of Tampa after a four year stint with the Spartans. He has twice earned a spot on the SSC Commissioner's Honor Roll for his successes in the classroom and has seen action in 32 contests for Tampa. Widdows pitched 9.2 innings in six appearances in the shortened 2020 season, finishing with six strikeouts. A season high three strikeouts came against Post (2/7).
The University of Tampa Athletic Department would like to extend congratulations to the baseball Class of 2020 for their impressive careers, academically and athletically. As these men go on to the next chapter of their lives, we wish them all the best, and we thank them for their dedication to the program, the school, and their sport.
The Tampa Spartans have spent the past two months honoring the seniors for each of our spring sports teams. As a result of the cancelation of all spring games and competition, typical senior-honoring events have also been canceled. Each week for the past several weeks, we have selected a team for which we honored those graduating this year.
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