Spartans Power Their Way past Palm Beach Atlantic
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
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2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | X | 11 | 12 | 0 |
TAMPA, Fla. - Senior Nolan Brannon continued his hot hitting with a 3-4 night, including his second home run of the season. With the help of fellow slugger Jose Jimenez, the University of Tampa baseball team (4-0) defeated Palm Beach Atlantic University (1-5) by a score of 11-3.
The Spartans scored first for the third time this season, getting a lead-off triple from Paul Cruz before Brannon hit a rope to left center for an RBI double to give Tampa the early 1-0 lead. Jimenez then followed with an RBI double of his own that scored Brannon, doubling the Spartan lead at 2-0.
Palm Beach Atlantic followed with one-run innings in the second and third to even the score at 2-2. That did not last for long as Jimenez gave the Spartans the lead for good with a towering solo home run in the bottom of the third, putting his team up 3-2. Tampa then broke the game open in the fourth with four runs on five hits, punctuated by Jesus Barroso's two-run double that scored Cruz and Leo Alvarez.
With Tampa up 7-2, Brannon launched his second home run of the season into the Tampa night, a solo shot that sailed into the netting in right field. Tampa added three runs in the seventh and eighth to go up 11-2 heading into the top of the ninth.
Kevin Ferguson rebounded for a shortened outing in the season opener with a strong seven inning performance, retiring the last 14 batters he faced on his way to recording his first win of the season. Ferguson allowed two runs, both of them earned, on five hits, struck out three and walked none using a meager 75 pitches.
Brannon and Jimenez led the Spartans with three and two hits, respectively. Brannon drove in three runs while Jimenez added two RBIs of his own. Both added a solo home run. Nate Titus pitched two strong innings in relief of Ferguson, allowing one run on two hits with one walk and one strike out in his collegiate debut.
The Spartans return to the field tomorrow as they face off against Palm Beach in a double header. The first game is scheduled to start at 1 pm, with the night-cap following 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one.