Melbourne, Fla. - After putting up 22 runs in Friday night's opener, Tampa's lineup on Saturday continued to flex the muscle that's earned them the nation's #3 ranking.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Game 1 Final: Tampa 6, Florida Tech 0
Game 2 Final: Tampa 11, Florida Tech 4
Records: Florida Tech (20-15, 9-9 SSC) | Tampa (27-7, 16-2 SSC)
Location: Andy Seminick-Les Hall Field | Melbourne, Fla.
STATS OF GAME 1:
• The Spartans took an immediately as Jordan Lala singled to start the game, advanced to third on a Drew Ehrhard single, and came home to score when J.D. Urso grounded into a double play.
•
Jason Blackstone ripped a one-out double in the bottom half of the first but a pair of groundouts left him stranded.
• Tech appeared on the verge of tying the game in the bottom half of the third as
Brett Kelly headed for home on
Gavin McGowan's two-out single to right field, but E.J. Cumbo's throw to the plate beat McGowan and Tampa retained their 1-0 lead.
• UT followed a familiar formula in the top of the third when Lala once again led off with a single, advanced to second on an Ehrhard single, and then to third when Urso grounded into a double play before Cumbo's single up the middle drove him in.
• The Spartans gave themselves cushion in the top of the sixth when, following a Danny Gutcher single and steal of the second, Lala's single into right-center would it make 3-0. After Lala took second, Ehrhard followed with an RBI single of his own.
• Tampa would cap the scoring in the top of the ninth with a two-run homer off the bat of Jamarcus Lyons.
• Spartans starting pitcher Alex Canney held the Panthers to just three hits over seven shutout innings of work while striking out six and walking one. Reliever Jack Brodsky permitted just one baserunner over the final two frames.
• RHP
Danny Vassallo started for Tech and was able to toss six and one-third innings. He allowed four earned runs while striking out two and walked one.
• Blackstone, Kelly and McGowan were responsible for the Panthers' three hits.
• Kelly stole his second base of the season.
STATS OF GAME 2:
• For the third time in the series, Tampa would strike first, this time with Anthony Nunez's opposite-field home run to left leading off the top of the second.
• The rally would continue with one out as Santiago Garavito walked, then moved to second on a Nico Saladino single. They would both come around to score when Luis Rodriguez's double stayed just fair inside the left-field line.
• The Spartans continued to tack in the top of the third and jumpstarted this time with a leadoff double down the line by Urso. Cumbo's single through the left side allowed Urso to sprint home with UT's fourth run.
• Following a fielder's choice that allowed Jamarcus Lyons to reach, Garavito took a 3-2 pitch the other way to the right for an RBI double and would advance to third on the play as Lyons was thrown out at the plate.
• Nico Saladino's seeing-eye single through the right side plated Garavito to extend the Tampa lead to 6-0.
• Tech scored the first run of the afternoon in the bottom of the fourth.
Sam Schner's one-out single jumpstarted the inning and after swiping second, McGowan's two-out single into left center allowed Schner to scamper home and get the Panthers on the board.
• The Crimson and Gray continued to cut into the deficit in the bottom of the fifth as
Josh Ford's solo home run made it a 6-2 game.
• Tampa would get the run back and more in the following half inning as they would load the bases with one out against
Ethan Stephens.
• Jose Cadenas' double into the left field corner would plate two, Garavito's sacrifice fly brought in another and when the relay throw got away at the plate, Cadenas hustled home to make it 10-2.
• Florida Tech would get two back in the seventh when following Blackstone's leadoff single, pinch-hitter
Austin Sewell took the first pitch he saw deep to left for a two-homer, his first of the season.
• The Spartans pushed the lead back to seven in the top of the eighth inning against
Ridge Skarbek.
• Cumbo would start the rally with a one-out single, and consecutive base hits from Nunez and Cadenas would bring him around to score.
• Eight of the nine Spartan starters recorded a hit.
• Blacktone, Ford and McGowan all recorded two-hit efforts.
• The trio of
Dylan Cleveland, Stephens and Skarbek combined to strikeout six Tampa hitters.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
• Tampa now leads the all-time series 129-34.
• Blackstone extended his hitting streak to 10 games, his longest of the season. He also collected his 17th multi-hit game of the season.
• Ford now has six multi-hit games over the past ten.
• Schner's two stolen bases in Game Two make him the first Panther since James Gronberg in 2018-2019 with consecutive seasons of at least 10 steals.
• McGowan hit .545 (6-for-11) for the series.
UP NEXT: Florida Tech will hit the road next weekend for a crucial SSC series at Barry beginning Friday, April 14. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Feinbloom Field in Miami Shores.
For the latest news, updates, and information on the Florida Tech baseball team, visit FloridaTechSports.com. Fans can also stay up to date on the latest Panthers news by following Florida Tech Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
