Spartans Reign Supreme Over Sharks
TAMPA, Fla. – The top-ranked University of Tampa baseball team defeated Sunshine State Conference opponent, Nova Southeastern in the first game of the three-game series.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: No. 3 Tampa Spartans 8, Nova Southeastern 5
Records: Tampa (8-1, 7-0 SSC), Nova Southeastern (0-4, 0-4 SSC)
Location: UT Baseball Field || Tampa, Fla.
All-time Series: Tampa is leading the all-time series 47-20.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Tampa opened up the scoring for the afternoon as Josh Rulli singled in a run. Jose Cadenas and E.J. Cumbo each reached on fielder's choices and drove in a pair of runs as a result. || Bottom 2 || 3-0 UT
- The Sharks battled back as they were able to drive across three runs in the inning to tie the game. || Top 5 || Tied 3-3
- It did not take long for E.J. Cumbo and the Spartans to answer back. Cumbo led off the inning with a solo home run to right field, giving him his third of the season. || Bottom 5 || 4-3 UT
- Cumbo continued what would turn out to be a productive afternoon, as he hit his second home run of the game, his fourth of the season. || Bottom 6 || 5-3 UT
- The Spartans continued the home run parade in the seventh inning as John Malcom hit a two-run homer to right-center field. Junior, Dan Sullivan hit a scorcher down the right-field line to drive in Derr. || Bottom 7 || 8-3 UT
- Nova Southeastern managed to put together two runs but it proved to not be enough as Nik Constantakos was able to record his second save of the season, and secure the win for the Spartans. || Top 9 || 8-5 UT
INSIDE THE STATS:
- E.J. Cumbo (3H, 2HR, 3RBI, 2R) continued his hot hitting this season as he has now recorded a hit in 9 out of 10 games this season.
- Starting pitcher Michael Paul recorded his fourth win of the season, pushing his record to 4-0 (6.0IP, 5H, 3R, 2ER, 7K). Paul has recorded at least four strikeouts in each of his four starts this season, and is now tied for the most strikeouts on the team with 23.
- Nick Derr went 2-for-3 scoring two runs, and drawing a walk.
- John Malcom went 1-for-2 as he scored two runs and drove in two RBI off a seventh-inning home run.
UP NEXT: The Spartans are back in action tomorrow afternoon as they play game two and three of the three-game series against the Sharks. First pitch of the doubleheader is at 3:00 p.m.
GAMEDAY MULTIMEDIA: Fans may watch all home games and Sunshine State Conference contests on TampaSpartans.tv. Live stats are also available through TampaStats.com. Follow UT Athletics: @TampaSpartans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Text Alerts: UT also offers a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.
Front Row: Download the official app of UT Athletics on the Apple or Android store. Look for the Tampa Spartans Front Row app to receive notifications from your favorite Spartan teams. The app is completely free.