#2 Spartans Return Home To Face Barry

TAMPA, Fla. - After being on the road for two weeks, the No. 2 University of Tampa baseball team is slated to return home to host Barry University for a weekend series scheduled to begin Friday evening. The Spartans enter the three-game set on top of the Sunshine State Conference with a 37-6 overall mark and a 17-1 record in conference play. Barry currently sits at 25-13 and 8-7.

The teams will square off at 6 p.m. on Friday night and will play a doubleheader with the first game to begin at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Tampa is coming off of a 9-2 Tuesday victory over Warner, while the Bucs dropped a non-conference contest to Palm Beach Atlantic as the Bucs let PBA slip by them in the ninth to lose 7-6.

The Spartans will be seeking continued production from Mike Blanke who has had led Tampa with a .484 batting average in conference play. In UT's 18 contests against conference foes, the junior has compiled a team-best 11 doubles while driving in 17 runs and scoring 22 times himself.

UT holds the all time series record of 59-16 against Barry and has won 10 of 12 contests against the Bucs at home under Joe Urso. However, Barry took the season series last year winning two out of three in Miami Shores.

Live stats for the game will be offered through www.tampaspartans.com. Fans may also follow University of Tampa athletics on Twitter (www.twitter.com/utspartans) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/tampaspartans). UT also offers eScores, a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.