LAKELAND, Fla. – Following a day of weather delays on Thursday, the No. 2 seed University of Tampa baseball team opened its play at the 2018 NCAA South Regional with a 12-2 victory over No. 7 seed Albany State University.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: No. 2 Tampa Spartans 12, No. 7 Albany State Golden Rams 2
Records: Tampa (40-9), Florida Southern (28-17)
Location: Henley Field | Lakeland, Fla.
All-time Series: Tampa now holds an 11-2 record in the all-time series against Albany State, including a 2-0 mark in NCAA postseason play.
Follow Us: @TampaSpartans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Vimeo.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Harrison Bragg connected on his 19th home run of the season as the first baseman gave UT a 2-0 lead in the first inning, scoring Drew Ehrhard.
• A second-inning double by Brandon Gali extended the Spartan lead to 4-0 as he scored Stephen Smith and Danny Sirven on the play.
• After Albany State cut the lead to 4-1, Ehrhard connected on a solo home run in the Spartan half of the third to make it 5-1.
• UT would add three more runs in the third to extend the lead to 8-1 as Sirven singled in a run and Richie Rivera registered a sacrifice fly.
• The Spartans crossed four again in the fourth, starting with a solo shot from Nick DeTringo. Connor Crile added an RBI single while Sirven brought home two teammates on a single of his own.

INSIDE THE STATS: 

• Clay Helvey started for Tampa and went 4.0 innings. He allowed just two hit and one run while striking out three. Head coach Joe Urso was able to limit his starter’s pitch count at 57.
• Pitching in his first game since March 14 against Bridgeport, Cooper Krug earned his first Spartan victory to move to 1-0 as he tossed 3.0 scoreless innings with two strikeouts while scattering a pair of hits.
• Senior left Kasey Radke pitched the final two frames, striking out two while allowing a run.
• Ehrhard and Darren Miller each tallied three hits as a total of five Spartans had multiple hits.
• Sirven was a perfect 2-for-2 with three RBI and two runs.
• Bragg and Gali each drove in two runs.
• Tampa finished with three home runs and six extra-base hits.

UP NEXT:

Tampa returns to action on Saturday as they face No. 3 Delta State University. The time has yet to be determined. Please visit TampaSpartans.com for complete information on Tampa Baseball

TAMPA SPARTANS MOBILE APP:
A free app is also available for free download through Apple and Google Play stores. Please search for Tampa Spartans Front Row.