Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 The Moccasins were unable to prevent sixth-ranked Tampa from claiming its fourth Sunshine State Conference baseball title in the last five years and its 13th overall, as the Spartans swept Saturday's doubleheader, 3-1 and 9-5, at Tampa.
In sweeping the three-game series, the Spartans improved their record to 42-8 overall and finish their SSC season with a 21-3 mark. The fourth-ranked Moccasins, who still have six SSC games to play, have dropped their last five games and are 37-10 overall, 12-6 in the SSC.
The Moccasins got on the scoreboard first in the opening game of Saturday'€™s twin-bill on Wade Kirkland'€™s RBI-single in the third that scored Trae Gore. Tampa answered with a run in the bottom of the inning, then Dylan Brown led off the fourth with a solo homer to give the Spartans a 2-1 lead. It stayed that way until Tampa added an insurance run in the eighth.
Josh Bowman worked eight strong innings for the Spartans to get the win and improve his record to 7-3. He scattered five hits, allowing just one after the third inning, and gave up one run before turning the game over to closer Evan Stobbs in the ninth. The Moccasins put their first two batters on base in the ninth with back-to-back singles by Drew Morgan and Andrew Grutka, but a double play and an infield out ended the Moccasin threat and allowed Tampa to clinch the SSC title.
Eddie Sipple took the loss, dropping his record to 7-2. He pitched the first four innings, giving up three hits and two runs.
In the second game, the Spartans staked starter A.J. Pinera (6-1) to a big early lead, as they reached Moccasin starter Gus Schlosser (7-4) for seven runs and eight hits in the first two frames.
The Moccasins didn'€™t score until the fifth, when Tony Mitchell hit a three-run homer to left field, his third of the season. Mitchell drove in all five FSC runs in the game, as he delivered a two-run single in the seventh. In addition to Mitchell'€™s two hits, Gore, Kelvin Clark, Grutka and Braxton Chisholm each had two hits.
FSC doesn'€™t play again until Friday night at 7, when it opens its final home series of the season against Nova Southeastern. The series will be played on Friday and Sunday, rather than the normal Friday-Saturday, due to FSC's Commencement on Saturday.
