TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Tampa men’s baseball team swept Lynn University with a win on Friday, Feb. 21, and two wins on Saturday, Feb. 22 in a doubleheader to begin Sunshine State Conference play at a record of 3-0.
The UTampa Spartans won on Friday by a score of 6-2 and won the first half of Saturday’s doubleheader with a 9-2 win. They then scored eleven unanswered runs after being down 8-3 in the third inning to win the final game of the series, 14-8.
“We had not been playing the way I expect the Spartan team to play, and these games we put it all together,” said UTampa head coach Joe Urso following the series. “All around, that’s what I would expect a great Spartan team to look like.”
In the first game of the series, the Spartans scored five runs in the fourth inning while senior starting pitcher Skylar Gonzalez pitched eight innings and only allowed two runs. In the second game, graduate starting pitcher C.J. Williams struck out eleven batters in seven innings as the Spartans scored six runs in the first inning.
The third game of the series was started by graduate starting pitcher Jake Stipp, However, he allowed seven runs during the first two innings. Senior relief pitcher Jacob Fletcher pitched the next four innings, allowing only one run in the third inning.
“That was the first bad outing of any of our starters and our bullpen stepped up for us when we needed them most,” said Urso.
The Spartans completed the comeback in the bottom of the fifth inning when senior outfielder Edgardo Villegas hit a double to give UTampa a 9-8 lead, batting in senior second baseman Nico Saladino.
“It’s been kind of tough for me, the first three weekends,” said Villegas. “Thank god it clicked and here I am, you know, I’m executing.”
Before the double that gave the Spartans the lead, Villegas hit a ball into foul territory that Lynn third baseman senior Cole Fowler failed to catch, allowing the at-bat to continue.
“Soon as he dropped it, I said dang, I got another chance,” Villegas said.
The weekend series was the first conference series for both teams. Beginning with the matchup with Lynn, UTampa baseball and the Lynn Fighting Knights will play doubleheaders on Saturday against respective conference opponents. Lynn head coach Rudy Garbalosa said that the physical requirements and mental challenge of 18 innings in one day is part of the challenge of the Sunshine State Conference.
“We prepare and try to prepare for conference [play], but the quality, especially opening up here against Tampa, number one, you have to bring your A-game every single day,” said Garbalosa.
Before the series, Urso said that he was not happy with the consistency that the Spartans had shown in the season. He said that he was happy with their closing pitcher, sophomore Michael Alfonso, but that the other members of the bullpen needed to be more consistent.
Alfonso pitched in the final game of the series, entering the game during the 8th inning with runners on first and second base. Graduate right fielder Shawn Dougherty hit a ball to right field for a single, loading the bases with no outs. Alfonso struck out the next two batters, freshman shortstop Bryant Zayas and senior pinch hitter Ahmir Cournier, and induced a groundout to second base by senior left fielder Jesse Robinson to end the inning while allowing no runs.
The Spartans moved to 10-2 on the season, and face three non-conference opponents to end their homestand. The Spartans play Ashland University on Friday, Feb. 28, play a doubleheader against Davenport University on March 1, and complete their homestand against the University of Minnesota Crookston on Monday, March 3.
—
Photo courtesy of Terry Hunsicker.