Spartans Ignite Offense to Advance in NCAA Championship Series

CARY, N.C. – The University of Tampa baseball team rallied in the middle innings to secure the victory over UC-San Diego in game two of the NCAA DII Championship Series. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final: (#2) Tampa 7 (W: Jacinto Arredondo, 4-1), (#6) UC-San Diego 2 (L: Brandon Weed, 10-3)

Records: (#2) No. 3 University of Tampa Spartans (43-14), (#6) UC-San Diego Tritons (41-15)

Location: USA Baseball National Training Complex || Cary, N.C.

All-time Series: This was the first meeting between the two powerhouses in Division II baseball. 

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HOW IT HAPPENED: 

TOP 2ND: To lead off the inning, Cole Perry crushed his fifth home run of the year to give UT an early lead. || UT led 1-0

BOT 3RD: The Tritons responded with a run of their own as R.J. Prince walked to begin the inning and scored on an RBI double from Shay Whitcomb. || Tied 1-1

BOT 4TH: With two outs, UC-San Diego worked a walk on a full-count and used consecutive base-hits, from Prince and Whitcomb, to take a one-run lead. || UC-SD led 2-1

TOP 5TH: The Spartans offense grabbed the momentum as Nick DeTringo singled and scored on an RBI triple from Yorvis Torrealba. After a free-pass to Danny Blair, Coach Urso and the staff employed a trick play as Blair was caught in a run-down - Torrealba took off for home plate which gave UT a one-run lead. || UT led 3-2

TOP 6TH: To extend the lead for Tampa, Nick Derr connected on his eighth homer of the year. || UT led 4-2

TOP 7TH: Stephen Smith led off with his third double of the season and scored on an infield single by DeTringo. DeTringo stole second and scored on Torrealba's fourth hit of the evening. || UT led 6-2

TOP 8TH: To provide an extra insurance run, Derr walked and scored after Sam Freitas lasered a double to right-center field. || UT led 7-2

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Mason Duke, a University of Alabama transfer, went 4.2 innings and struck out five. The senior allowed two runs on seven hits, and walked a season-high five batters. 
• Arredondo picked up his fourth win of the year, including back-to-back victories in the NCAA DII Championship Series. The right-hander went 3.1 innings and stranded the bases-loaded in the fifth.
• Sammy Peralta made an appearance in the ninth inning and struck out two of three batters faced. 
• Torrealba, an ABCA/D2CCA All-American, totaled four hits on the evening. Additionally, the junior tied his season-high with three stolen bases. 
• In the eight and nine-hole respectively, Smith and DeTringo combined to go 5-for-8 at the plate with three runs scored.
• Through five innings, the Tritons stranded 10 base-runners. In total, UC-San Diego left 12 runners on base. 

OUTSIDE THE BOX:

• The Spartans have won nine straight games, remaining undefeated in 2019 NCAA postseason play. 
• Dating back to 2015, Tampa has won six straight games in Cary, N.C. 
• Torrealba tied his season-high with four hits, and he's accomplished this feat in four games this year.

UP NEXT:

The University of Tampa will take the field on Thursday at 3:00 p.m. for the winners bracket final in the NCAA DII Championship Series against TBD. Follow the live stream, along with in-game statistics, on NCAA.com

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