Spartans Squeak Past Florida Tech In Battle Of Nationally Ranked Teams
MELBOURNE, Fla. - The No. 2 University of Tampa (35-5) baseball team overcame an early deficit to record a 3-2 victory over No. 19 Florida Tech (27-12) in a non-conference meeting between the Sunshine State Conference opponents. The victory also extended UT's school record winning streak to 23 games.
The Panthers got out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second on an RBI single by Jose Vasquez. FIT starting pitcher Josh Ziemba hurled 4.0 innings of scoreless ball, allowing just one hit.
It took until the sixth inning for UT to score as it crossed a pair of runs to grab a 2-1 lead. Following a Brad Roberts single and walk by Mike Schwartz to lead-off the frame, Jared Simon put both runners in scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. With two outs, head coach Joe Urso made the decision to pinch-hit Larry Walicki, who clubbed a two-run double to score Roberts and Schwartz.
The Spartans added another run in the seventh inning as Tyler Cox executed a suicide squeeze to score Patrick Donahue, who led off the inning with a double down the rightfield line. The Panthers scored one in the eighth, but was unable to muster a comeback victory.
Carmine Giardina (4-1) started for the Spartans and threw 5.0 innings. The southpaw allowed just one run while striking out four and walking none.
Tom Meagher added two scoreless innings of relief as Evan Stobbs (7) registered the save while hurling the final two innings of the contest.
The Spartans will travel to Winter Park for a weekend SSC series at Rollins College. The first game is slated for Friday at 6 p.m., followed by a Saturday doubleheader at 1 p.m. Live stats will be available through www.tampaspartans.com.
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