The dugout was littered with cleats and gym bags as the sun slowly crawled up from behind the bleachers early Saturday morning. The pitchers congregated in left center field to chat and snag the occasional fly ball as head coach Joe Urso stood behind a protective net flinging balls for batting practice.
After a disappointing home season opening loss, The University of Tampa men’s baseball team has been unbeatable, winning their last six consecutive games. “We’ve been swinging the bat really well, good bullpen work,” Coach Urso said, taking a break from his throwing duties. “Defensively we’ve improved a lot; we had no errors against Columbus State.”
Despite the hot start, the UT men face a difficult challenge improving on an impressive 38-10 record a season ago. The loss of pitchers Sean Bierman and Ben O’Shea to the Major League Baseball draft has left a hole in the starting rotation.
“We need to be getting more consistent starts out of our starting pitching,” Coach Urso said, casually tossing a baseball against the wall. “Guys aren’t going deep enough and we’re needing to go to the bullpen too early.”
Through the first seven games of the season, Spartans starting pitchers have lasted an average of 4.1 innings per start. During that time the team has used four or more pitchers in a game on four different occasions.
Ben Brown, a senior right-handed pitcher from Winter Haven, Fla, has been one of the most consistent starters for UT thus far. In his first two starts, Brown has racked up two wins, pitching nine innings with an earned run average of just 1.00.
Despite the early season hiccup for the pitching staff, Brown believes the staff has just as much talent as the year before. “We’re not in midseason form right now but the pitching is as good as last year,” Brown said. “We’ve got some good new arms. Just have to make sure to throw strikes and get ahead of guys.”
For Brown, remaining focused on the mound has been the key to his personal success. “I tend to let myself coast a little bit sometimes,” Brown said squinting through the morning sun. “I’ve been really trying to focus on each individual batters and not let myself coast.”
The general consensus from Coach Urso and other players on the team is that there has been improvement offensively this season, a needed upgrade as an early exit from the tournament last season was accused on cold bats.
However, as the offense has progressed, Coach Urso would like to see further improvement in his team’s number of strikeouts. The Spartans totaled 34 strikeouts through their first seven games, an average of about one every seven at bats. It’s clear that wont cut it once conference play begins.
“Our conference will exploit hitters who strikeout,” Coach Urso explained. “We’ve juggled the lineup around, had them take extra time in the cage to try and make sure we get more contact with the ball.”
Connor Obrochta, a right-handed outfielder from St. Petersburg, Fla, who came to UT for the “great business and baseball programs,” is tied for second on the team in hits (8) but knows improvements can be made. “Coach has us doing extra time in the cage working with the curveball machine,” Obrochta said.
Obrochta continuously preached hard work and consistency over everything as the requisite for team success. “If it’s a long win streak or a long losing streak we just have to stay the same,” Obrochta said. “Have to stay consistent.”
Consistency, chemistry and hard work are three ingredients for success and Obrochta feels this team has the chemistry of one that can win a championship. “We had a lot of new guys and it took us a while to get to know each other,” Obrochta said while joking with teammates. “But we meshed together and we’ve got a good group of guys here.”
Despite the noted areas for improvement, the Spartans have jumped out to a sizzling start in their first seven games, outscoring their opponents by an average of 4.5 runs per game. “We’re more polished this year and we expect to win a national title,” Coach Urso said. “Here you’re measured on national titles and nothing else.”
UT baseball next plays today, Feb. 21 at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. at home.
Nathan Krohn can be reached at nathan.krohn@spartans.ut.edu.