Tampa Today

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

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HOUSTON – University of Tampa women’s golfer Kiira Riihijarvi ended day two of the 2018 NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championships in a 10th-place tie.

Competing against the nation’s top golfers, the sophomore finished with a 77 after carding a 69 on day one. She is currently +2 overall, with Kylie Raines from Indianapolis in first at -3.

On day two, Riihijarvi scored a par on 13 of the 18 on 13 holes. She also carded a birdie with four of the fifth hole.

Day three of the championships will take place on Friday at Bay Oaks Country Club.

LAKELAND – The opening game of the NCAA Division II South Regional made it to the bottom of the seventh inning before a lightning delay sent the teams off the field. A short time later, heavy rains hit the area and the game was suspended with third-seeded Delta State leading No. 6 Mississippi College, 13-2.

The game was eventually suspended and will be resumed Friday, tentatively at 10 a.m., depending on the weather. The remaining two games scheduled for Thursday – #2 Tampa vs. #7 Albany State and #4 Nova Southeastern vs. #5 Montevallo are slated to follow on Friday at times to be determined.

For complete information on the 2018 NCAA Division II Baseball South Regional, please visit the official host website.

MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Sunshine State Conference announced its 2018 baseball postseason awards as league-champion University of Tampa grabbed nine accolades. UT picked up the Pitcher of the Year and Coach of the Year awards while having seven student-athletes on the all-SSC team. In total, 33 student-athletes are recognized on the All-SSC baseball teams.

Voting for the All-SSC baseball awards is conducted among the league’s baseball coaches.

SSC Baseball All-Conference History: All-SSC Teams | Players & Coaches of the Year

Patrick Dorrian of Lynn University is named the 2018 SSC Player of the Year. The senior shortstop ranks Top-5 in league batting average (.394), slugging percentage (.798), hits (74), on-base percentage (.471), runs batted in (57), triples (6), and home runs (17). The Kingston, New York native, led the league with 160 assists in the field while posting a .943 fielding percentage. Dorrian is the seventh Fighting Knight to win Player of the Year honors and the sixth to do so in the last seven years¹.

David Lebron repeats as Pitcher of the Year following a 9-0 season on the hill for Tampa. In 87.2 innings pitched, he struck out 130 batters and registered a WHIP of 1.129. The senior from Homestead, Florida recorded a 2.46 earned run average and .216 batting average against across his 15 appearances in 2018. Lebron remains the 10th Spartan to be named SSC Pitcher of the Year² and is the first athlete to win the award two times.

Florida Southern College’s Jacob Teter, a first baseman from Melbourne, Florida, is awarded Freshman of the Year. The Moccasin finished the regular season with 69 hits in 196 at-bats for a .352 batting average. Teter led Florida Southern in hits while finishing second in at-bats, batting average, runs (47), doubles (11), and runs batted in (49). Teter is the fifth FSC player to be named SSC Freshman of the Year³ and the first since 2005.

SSC baseball coaches award Coach of the Year to Joe Urso for the 12th time⁴ in his career, third consecutive. Urso guided the Spartans to a 39-9 overall record and 27-3 conference record in 2018. The Spartans concluded the regular season with a 19th SSC championship. Tampa’s postseason campaign for national title number eight starts with a 19th straight NCAA Division II South Region Tournament appearance.

Repeat All-SSC selections are highlighted by Logan Browning of Florida Southern and Dylan Harris of Nova Southeastern University. Browning repeats as All-SSC First Team for a third consecutive year, while Harris is the only athlete listed to win All-SSC honors four times⁵. Tampa’s Darren Miller joins Lebron as a repeat First Team honoree from 2017. Dorrian and Harris both make the jump to First Team after Second Team accolades last year.

Joining Lebron and Miller on the first team are juniors Nick DeTringo and Keven Pimentel. Second team selections from the Spartans are Harrison Bragg, Drew Ehrhard and Mark Moclair.
—
Player of the Year = Patrick Dorian, Lynn
Pitcher of the Year = David Lebron, Tampa
Freshman of the Year = Jacob Teter, Florida Southern
Coach of the Year = Joe Urso, Tampa
–

2018 All-SSC Baseball First Team
1B	Dylan Harris^%@	Nova Southeastern	Sr.	Land O’Lakes, Florida
2B	Kyle Marsh	Embry-Riddle	Jr.	Port Orange, Florida
3B	Darren Miller*	Tampa	Sr.	Key West, Florida
SS	Patrick Dorrian^	Lynn	Sr.	Kingston, New York
C	Jake Anchia	Nova Southeastern	Jr.	Miami Lakes, Florida
DH	Hayden Marze	Florida Southern	Jr.	Sunset, Louisiana
OF	Andrew Liberty	Nova Southeastern	Sr.	Boca Raton, Florida
OF	Nick DeTringo	Tampa	Jr.	Ruskin, Florida
OF	Samuel Duran	Nova Southeastern	Jr.	Melbourne, Florida
OF	Kyle Guttveg	Embry-Riddle	So.	Palm City, Florida
UT	Logan Browning*	Florida Southern	Sr.	Lakeland, Florida
RP	J.T. Hintzen	Florida Southern	Sr.	Old Greenwich, Connecticut
SP	David Lebron*$	Tampa	Sr.	Homestead, Florida
SP	Keven Pimentel	Tampa	Jr.	Huntington Station, New York
SP	Devin Conn	Nova Southeastern	So.	Parkland, Florida
SP	Jordan Pendleton~	Saint Leo	Sr.	Palm Harbor, Florida
2018 All-SSC Baseball Second Team
1B	Harrison Bragg	Tampa	Sr.	Lakewood, Washington
2B	Drew Ehrhard	Tampa	So.	Tampa, Florida
3B	Raul Quintero	Florida Tech	So.	Weston, Florida
SS	Omar Villaman	Florida Southern	Sr.	St. Cloud, Florida
C	Brett Coffel	Saint Leo	Jr.	Clermont, Florida
OF	Jonathan Quintana#	Barry	Sr.	Miami Lakes, Florida
OF	Zach Howard	Embry-Riddle	Jr.	Land O’Lakes, Florida
OF	Andrew Rapoza	Barry	So.	New Bedford, Massachusetts
OF	Amir Wright	Saint Leo	So.	Griffith, Indiana
DH	Paul Salata	Barry	Jr.	Norwalk, Connecticut
UT	Peyton Isaacson	Saint Leo	Jr.	Galesburg, Illinois
RP	Mark Moclair	Tampa	Jr.	Seffner, Florida
SP	Rigo Beltran	Lynn	Sr.	Delray Beach, Florida
SP	Mikhail Cazenave	Palm Beach Atlantic	Sr.	Gadsden, Alabama
SP	Dillon McCollough^	Eckerd	Jr.	Deltona, Florida
SP	Brady Acker	Nova Southeastern	Jr.	Coral Springs, Florida

 

* = 2017 All-SSC First Team
^ = 2017 All-SSC Second Team
$ = 2017 Pitcher of the Year
= 2016 All-SSC First Team
# = 2015 All-SSC First Team
~ = 2015 All-SSC Second Team
% = 2015 Honorable Mention
@ = 2014 All-SSC First Team
= 2014 Freshman of the Year

1 Previous Lynn Player of the Year winners: Tyler Curtis (2017), John Silviano (2016), Sal Giardina (2014), Jason Matusik (2013), Anthony Boza (2012), Nicolas Boisvert (2007).
2 Previous Tampa Pitcher of the Year Winners: Preston Packrall (2014), Mike Adams (2013), Sean Bierman (2012), Kevin Ferguson (2007), Sergio Perez (2006), Eric Beattie (2003), Charlie Manning (2001), Mike Valdes (1998), Ricky Burton (1996).
3 Previous Florida Southern Freshman of the Year Winners: Ken Wadsworth (2005), Geoff Strickland (2003), John Connally Barnett (2000), and Lance Niekro (1999).
4 Urso ranks fifth in Coach of the Year awards among SSC coaches in a single sport and sixth overall: 19 – George Samuel, Barry Tennis (15 Men’s / 4 Women’s), 18 – Chris Catanach, Tampa Volleyball, 15 – Chris Bellotto, Florida Southern Softball, 13 – Jarrett Slaven, Tampa Women’s Cross Country, 13 – Mike Perez, Lynn Tennis (9 Women’s / 4 Men’s)
5 Harris was named First Team and Freshman of the Year in 2014, Honorable Mention in 2015. The redshirt-junior received Second Team in 2017 after sitting out 2016.

ST. LEO, Fla. –  The No. 6 Saint Leo University Lions defeated the No. 7 University of Tampa Spartans by a final score of 12-11 in overtime of the NCAA quarterfinals. This loss marks the end of the Spartans season, finishing the year with an overall record of 15-5. The Lions will advance to the NCAA semifinals which will take place Saturday, May 19^th.  

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: No. 7 Tampa Spartans 11, No. 6 Saint Leo Lions 12
Records: Tampa (15-5), Saint Leo (15-2)
Location: University Turf Stadium | St. Leo, Fla.  
All-time Series: The Tampa Spartans lead the all-time series against the Saint Leo Lions 7-3.
Follow Us: @TampaSpartans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Vimeo 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

1st Period

• The No. 6 ranked Lions were the first team on the board, giving them the 1-0 lead with 10:55 remaining in the first.
• The Spartans then answered at the 7:00 minute mark with an unassisted goal from Kansai Garey.
• At the end of the first period, the Spartans and the Lions were tied at 1.  

 

2nd Period

• Starting the second period, the Lions were once again the first team to score, thus taking the lead 2-1.
• With 8:57 remaining in the half, SLU netted another goal, cushioning their lead 3-1.
• Andrew Kew then answered for the Spartans with an unassisted goal, his 49^th of the season.
• Saint Leo scored their fourth goal of the contest with 3:36 remaining in the half.
• UT’s Hunter Van Horn then netted one for the Spartans to cut the Lions lead to one with 1:51 left in the half.
• At the end of the first half, the No. 6 Saint Leo University Lions lead the No. 7 University of Tampa Spartans 4-3.

  

3rd Period

• Coming out of halftime, the Lions were the first team to score with three goals in the first five minutes. These goals gave the Lions the 7-3 lead.
• However, the Spartans then answered with back-to-back goals. The first from Jake Mosher McGraw, and the second from Andrew Kew. The Lions continued to hold the lead 7-5.
• Bryan Wright then netted his first goal of the game with 6:59 remaining in the period.
• Less than 10 seconds later, Matt Vetter tied the game at 7 off the assist from Dylan Carter.
• The University of Tampa then got their first lead of the game with 3:25 remaining in the period. The goal was scored by Garey, the assist by Mosher McGraw.
• With 1:42 on the clock, the Lions tied the game back at 8.
• Then with :04 seconds remaining in the period, Saint Leo scored giving them the 9-8 lead at the end of the third period.

 

4th Period

• Once again, to start the period, SLU was the first team to score giving them the 10-8 lead.
• The Lions then earned another goal cushioning their lead to three points.
• Vetter then netted a goal for the Spartans, his second of the day. SLU still leads UT 11-9.
• With 4:41 remaining in the contest, Wright scored for the Spartans, the assist by Mosher McGraw.
• Mosher McGraw then netted a goal for the Spartans to tie the game at 11. The assist came from Luke Curran.
• To end the fourth period, the Lions and Spartans were tied at 11, forcing the game to go into overtime.

 

OT

• In the first six second of overtime, the No. 6 Lions scored, thus defeating the No. 7 Spartans by a final score of 12-11.

 

 

INSIDE THE STATS:

 

BEYOND THE BOX:

 

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TAMPA, Fla. – The No. 1 University of Tampa baseball team avoided a Sunshine State Conference sweep as they split a doubleheader with No. 4 Florida Southern College on Saturday. The day also served as senior day, with UT recognizing its 11 seniors prior to the doubleheader.

Game One Final: No. 4 Florida Southern Moccasins 5, No. 1 Tampa Spartans 1
Game Two Final: No. 1 Tampa Spartans 16, No. 4 Florida Southern Moccasins 9
Records: Tampa (39-9, 27-3 SSC), Florida Southern (39-9-1, 22-8 SSC)
Location: UT Baseball Field | Tampa, Fla.
All-time Series: Florida Southern leads the all-time series by a record of 101-99.
Follow Us: @TampaSpartans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Vimeo

HOW IT HAPPENED GAME 1:

• The Spartans took a 1-0 lead on a Nick DeTringo single in the third inning, scoring Brandon Gali.
• Florida Southern took the lead with a four-run fifth inning.
• The Mocs extended their advantage to 5-1 with a run in the seventh.

INSIDE THE STATS GAME 1: 

• DeTringo led the team with a pair of hits as the rightfielder also accounted for the lone RBI in the game.
• Starting for UT was Clay Helvey, who tossed 5.0 innings. The junior righty only allowed two earned runs with a pair of strikeouts.
• Helvey now stands at 5-1 on the season.
• Senior lefty Christian Calleja tossed the final 4.0 frames, giving up three hits and one run while fanning three Mocs.

HOW IT HAPPENED GAME 2:

• Florida Southern took a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the first inning.
• The Spartans broke out with four runs in the first to take the lead. Connor Crile blasted a two-run home run as Harrison Bragg also drove in a run with a single. The other Spartan run came on a double steal where Richie Rivera stole home.
• Tampa matched its first inning output with a four-spot in the second to grab an 8-2 lead. Bragg connected on a two-run home run, while the other two runs scored via a two-base Moccasin throwing error.
• Bragg slugged his second home run of the game with a solo shot in the fourth, as UT scored another run in the frame on an RBI single by Gali.
• UT stretched its lead to 11-2 on an RBI single by Crile in the fifth.
• Another big inning was recorded in the seventh as UT crossed five runs. Kyle Cotilletta registered a two-run single as Rivera and Chris Gaffney each singled home a run. The other UT run scored on a balk.

INSIDE THE STATS GAME 2:

• Bragg hit two homes as he finished 3-for-4 with four RBI and three runs. He also drew a walk.
• Crile also turned in three hits as he scored two runs and drove in three.
• Also notching three hits in game two was Rivera.
• DeTringo and Gaffney each had two hits.
• A total of 12 Spartans had a hit in the game.
• Colton Widdows started for Tampa and threw 1.0 innings.
• Cole Aker entered in the second inning and would finish with 5.0 innings pitched. He allowed just three hits and one run while striking out eight. He is now 3-1 on the season.
• Tyler Beck and Kasey Radke also pitched, throwing 2.0 and 1.0 innings respectively.

UP NEXT:
UT awaits word on its fate at the 2018 NCAA South Regional, which will be announced at the selection show on Sunday at 10:00 p.m., Eastern on NCAA.com. The regional is scheduled for May 17-21.

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INDIANAPOLIS – The NCAA has announced its field for the 2018 baseball tournament as the University of Tampa was chosen as the No. 2 seed in the South Region. The number-one seed and host for the regional is Florida Southern College. The regional will be played from May 17-21 at Henley Field in Lakeland, Fla.

Tampa will open play at the regional on Thursday when it meets No. 7 seed Albany State University. The two teams met on March 9-10 as the Rams took two of three in a series played in Albany, Ga. The two teams have only met one time in the NCAA Tournament, with UT taking a 14-0 victory in 2006, a year where the Spartans won the national championship.

Tampa enters postseason play with a record of 39-9. UT also captured its 19th Sunshine State Conference championship as it finished league play with a record of 27-3 as the 27 victories marked an SSC record.

The seven-time national champion Spartans have appeared in the NCAA tournament for 19 straight seasons, including each of head coach Joe Urso‘s 18 seasons at the helm. Overall, UT has played in 33 NCAA tournaments.

The NCAA Division II Baseball Committee selected 56 teams to compete at eight regional sites, including 23 automatic qualifiers. All regionals will be double-elimination tournaments and the winners of the regionals will advance to the championship finals, May 26-June 2 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C.

2018 NCAA South Regional Bracket

TAMPA, Fla. – Junior ace Makaleigh Dooley was named to the D2CCA All-South region first team as announced earlier today. Dooley earned first-team honors after guiding UT to a 28-16 overall record and 19-11 in Sunshine State Conference play.

The pitcher made 39 appearances and threw 30 complete games for Tampa in 2018. She sported a 25-11 record for the Spartans, along with two saves, with 247.1 innings pitched. A native of Tampa, she led the conference in wins (25) and batters struck out (226). She was second in earned run average (1.27), innings pitched (247.1), and batters struck out looking (53).

The Tampa ace also tied the school record for wins in a season with 25 and was one of only three players to appear and start in every game during the season. Dooley set a new career high for starts in the circle (32), complete games (30), innings pitched (247.1), and strikeouts (226). The junior also finished the season with a career-best in ERA after completing the season with a 1.27.

The members of the first team will now be listed on the D2CCA All-American ballot. The All-America team will be announced on Wednesday, May 23rd.

ICYMI: In Case You Missed It, last week Kiira Riihijarvi on the women’s golf team, notched her second top-three NCAA South Super Regional finish, qualifying for the NCAA Division II National Championships. Tampa Baseball lost 2-1 in the final series of regular season competition against the Florida Southern Moccasins. However, even with this loss, Tampa Baseball received their 19^th straight NCAA Tournament bid. Tampa was chosen as the No. 2 seed in the South Region. The number-one seed and host for the regional is Florida Southern College. The regional will be played from May 17-21 at Henley Field in Lakeland, Fla. Also over the weekend, the No. 7 men’s lacrosse team finished their 2018 season with an overall record of 15-5. The Spartans lost 12-11 to the No. 6 Saint Leo Lions in overtime in the NCAA Quarterfinals.

This Week’s Events:

Women’s Golf:
For the second year in a row, sophomore Kiira Riihijarvi will compete at the NCAA Division II National Championships. The NCAA Nationals is scheduled for May 17-19 at Bay Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas.

Baseball:
Tampa will open play at the regional on Thursday when it meets No. 7 seed Albany State University. The two teams met on March 9-10 as the Rams took two of three in a series played in Albany, Ga. The two teams have only met one time in the NCAA Tournament, with UT taking a 14-0 victory in 2006, a year where the Spartans won the national championship.

For all the news regarding the University of Tampa Spartans, head over to tampaspartans.com.