The University of Tampa baseball team kicked off its season by sweeping Bentley University last weekend. The first-ranked Spartans displayed dominance on the mound, allowing just one run in three games.
The first two games were blowouts, won by a combined score of 15-0. Sunday was different, however.
Transfer Ben O’Shea made his first appearance for the Spartans, allowing the first run of the season in four innings of work. The Spartans were shut out through seven, and mustered only four hits in the entire game. In this case, quality ousted quantity. Senior Andrew Jones singled home Raiko Alfonso to tie the game in the eighth. Then in the ninth, transfer Anthony Caronia, who led Tampa with six hits over the weekend, ended the game by driving in the second run with a walk-off single.
“It all started with our pitching this weekend,” said Head Coach Joe Urso. “That’s our strength this year. Our guys did a great job of pounding the strike zone and limiting walks. Caronia had a big weekend in the lead-off spot too. Our base-stealers were aggressive and we seemed to be going from first to third nicely. It was a good first weekend overall, but we didn’t execute certain situations that we will be working on in practice.”
Tampa was the preseason favorite to win the SSC, and is currently tied for first with four other teams. Florida Tech, Nova Southeastern, Rollins and Saint Leo all matched Tampa’s 3-0 start. The entire SSC is currently 23-6.
“I haven’t seen any of the other teams yet,” said Urso. “This is a tremendous conference and we look forward to playing our rivals like Florida Southern when conference play opens in March.”
The Spartans are undefeated at home, and will be for a while as the team begins a grueling 13-game road trip at Georgia College in a double-header on Friday. After their Feb. 5 win at home, they won’t play another game at UT until March 4.
“We’re gonna have to hit the books hard because we’ll be gone for a lot of weekends and we have road games the next three Fridays,” Urso said. “We’re excited for Georgia College, as we play them every year. They beat us in the World Series two years ago, so we’re not too happy about that.”
In addition to pitching, Urso added that another one of the teams’ strengths is experience. Fifth-year seniors Evan Stobbs and Sean Bierman will lead the talented pitching staff, and veterans like Andrew Jones and Raiko Alfonso should anchor the lineup.
The team is full of transfers; of the 36-man roster, 22 players joining UT after having played at other colleges or universities. In addition, there are only five freshmen on the team. Urso is confident, however, that they will learn from their teammates what it means to put on a University of Tampa jersey. “The experienced guys on the team will show the transfers what it means to be a Spartan.”
John Hilsenroth Jr. can be reached at minaret.sports@gmail.com.