Tampa Advances To World Series
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By BART O'CONNELL Tribune correspondent

Published: May 21, 2007

TAMPA - It didn't seem right, the University of Tampa's stocky, power-packed corner infielder, Jose Jimenez, squaring to bunt runners over.

Then again, maybe it did make sense with two on and none out in the 10th inning of a tied NCAA II South Regional final Sunday against rival Florida Southern. Jimenez hadn't been hitting well, and was dropped from fifth to seventh in the lineup for the winner-take-all game.

But after two failed attempts, Coach Joe Urso finally made the move that sent UT back to the Division II World Series. He told Jimenez to swing away, and the sophomore delivered a majestic three-run homer over the UT Baseball Field's scoreboard in right.

Towels were flying, chests were bumping and Urso couldn't find enough people to high-five as Jimenez circled the bases. Spartans pitcher Anthony Perez finished off the bottom of the inning to give UT an 8-5 win. They'll head to Montgomery, Ala., this week to defend their national championship.

"Once I hit it, I had a good feeling," Jimenez said of the full-count pitch he crushed. "I mean, it felt good. I had a good feeling it was going over the fence."

Prior to that blast, the day wasn't going as planned for the Spartans, who lost 7-0 in the first game thanks to a shutout from Mocs starter Jeremy Thorne. Between games, Urso got out the video of UT's two-out comeback in last year's national championship game, but the VCR didn't work.

"They were kind of laughing at me," Urso said. "And I just kind of think they were relaxing a little bit. They were realizing how close they were. Then I brought the championship trophy - that part did not get messed up."

Prior to that moment, the Spartans hadn't been allowed to talk about the national title all year, but Urso was desperate. He even scratched Perez from the scheduled start in favor of closer Jonathan Holt, thinking that would motivate the team more.

UT raced to a 5-1 lead, but Florida Southern scored two in both the fifth and sixth to tie. Perez entered as a reliever and proved to be the answer anyway, striking out six in five innings for his second regional victory. Afterward, the former Junior Olympic pitcher called it the biggest moment of his career.

"I wasn't sitting in the dugout. I kept walking back and forth getting water," Perez said, "just making sure I was ready at any point to throw."

Perez and Holt were named All-Tournament pitchers, with Holt (three saves) garnering MVP honors. First baseman Nolan Brannon, outfielder Craig Corrado and Jimenez (as a designated hitter) also made the All-Tournament team.

The victory, as well as the rest of the season, is being dedicated to Ann McKean, the mother of reserve outfielder Brett McKean and former Spartan Jamie McKean, who died Tuesday. Urso and many of the players attended services before the first tournament game, and have put her initials on their caps in her memory.

"It was tough on us," Urso said of the entire experience. "I'm a believer so I know she was looking down on us."

Bethune-Cookman Takes MEAC Title
NORFOLK, Va. - Bethune-Cookman scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to claim the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference baseball title 6-4 against North Carolina A&T.

North Carolina A&T (28-31) had won a game earlier Sunday 4-3 to force a final game. The victory sends the Wildcats (33-25) to the NCAA Division I regionals beginning June 1.

The rally made a winner of Francisco Gomez, who pitched 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. It is Gomez's first win of the season. Francisco Rodriguez got his first save of the year.

With B-CC down 4-2, Patrick Jones started the eighth with a pinch-hit single. After a wild pitch, Luis Gonzalez singled Jones in. Angel Mercado walked, and Angel Negron singled up the middle to score Gonzalez and tie the game at 4.

After a pop-out, Chris Brown singled home Mercado for the game-winner. After Devin Conner replaced Negron as a pinch-runner, Jose Almonte singled to left to score Conner with the sixth run. Almonte finished the game 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Gonzalez also had a homer in the game.

BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP: After finishing its regular season with a 5-2 home victory against No. 23 St. John's on Saturday, South Florida (32-24, 13-14) was seeded fifth for the tourney which starts Tuesday at KeySpan Park in Brooklyn, N.Y. USF will face No. 4 seed Pittsburgh (27-25, 15-11) on Tuesday at 5 p.m.

ACC CHAMPIONSHIP: Florida State is seeded first and Miami fifth for the round-robin event which starts Wednesday at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. FSU (46-9, 24-6) will open play Wednesday night at 7 against Wake Forest (31-25, 14-16). Miami (35-20, 17-13) will take on Clemson (36-20, 18-12) at 4 p.m.

SEC TOURNAMENT: Florida is seeded sixth for the event, which begins Wednesday at Regions Park in Hoover, Ala. Florida (28-28, 15-15) will take on third-seeded South Carolina (40-16, 17-13) on Wednesday at 2 p.m.

Information from Tribune wires was used in this report.

http://www.tbo.com/sports/MGBPK7QCY1F.html

Congrats UT and Good luck!!

Wow... Way to go Spartans!

Yah thats my school ;-)

UT Begins World Series With Win

By A.A. MOORE Tribune correspondent

Published: May 26, 2007

MONTGOMERY, ALA. - The last time the University of Tampa played a game at Riverwalk Stadium, the Spartans celebrated their fourth Division II national title.

The stakes were not as high Friday night, but the Spartans wasted no time in showing why they are the favorites to win a second straight championship. Tampa scored four first-inning runs and added three more in the fourth en route to a 13-5 win against Cal State-Los Angeles (46-13-1).

"We came out and threw up a four spot, which was really big to get momentum," Tampa coach Joe Urso said.

Second baseman Ryan Kennedy went 5-for-5 and drove in three runs and catcher Chris Rosenbaum had three hits and three RBIs as Tampa (50-10) advanced in the winners' bracket. It will face 37-22 Nebraska-Omaha - a 5-4 winner against Kutztown in 10 innings - Sunday at 7:30 p.m.

Tampa smacked around CS-Los Angeles starter Isaac Morales from the outset. Roberto Mena drove in the first run on a sacrifice fly that scored Kennedy, who had doubled. A walk to Jose Jimenez put two runners on for Rosenbaum, who entered the game with just one home run. He proceeded to smash a three-run homer to left that staked the Spartans to a 4-0 advantage.

"Since we were up 1-0, it took the pressure off," said Rosenbaum, who hit his first home run since February. "I just sat back, got a pitch middle-in and put a good swing on it."

The offensive onslaught continued in the fourth. After the Golden Eagles had cut their deficit to two, the Spartans added an RBI single from Kennedy, a run-scoring double from Craig Corrado and an RBI groundout from Mena to push Tampa's lead to 8-3.

Kennedy said he was surprised he did so well at the plate. "I didn't have a great [batting practice]," Kennedy said. "To come out and get five hits is a good thing. I just went out there and tried not to overswing."

Starter Kevin Ferguson pitched only three innings and gave up two runs and five hits. Anthony Perez gave up three runs in 2 2/3 innings, picking up his eighth win without a loss.

http://www.tbo.com/sports/MGBKVFSK52F.html

UT Earns Some Much-Needed Rest

By A.A. MOORE Tribune correspondent

Published: May 28, 2007

MONTGOMERY, ALA. - Tampa had more incentive than just moving closer to a second straight Division II baseball title with a win over Nebraska-Omaha Sunday night. A victory meant two days off for a team that has played seven games in the last 10 days.

Another offensive barrage against the Mavericks earned the Spartans some much-needed rest. Tampa pounded out 15 hits and shortstop Roberto Mena nearly hit for the cycle in a 9-2 win.

Tampa (51-10) advances to the semifinals and will not play again until Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. against a still-to-be-determined opponent.

Starting pitcher Ross Jackson gave Tampa's overworked pitching staff some much-needed rest, scattering 10 hits over seven innings.

"We knew it was big to get the win, stay in the winner's bracket, and have those days off," Tampa head coach Joe Urso said. "Ross was able to give us seven strong innings and allowed us to save our bullpen."

Two three-run innings - one in the third, the other in the fifth - broke the game open for Tampa.

A leadoff walk in the third to Junior Mejia and a one-out free pass to Ryan Kennedy set the inning in motion. A failed pick-off moved Mejia to third before the bats went to work.

Craig Corrado reached on a fielder's choice, which brought home Mejia. A walk to Mena was followed by a run-scoring single by Jose Jimenez, which sent UNO starter Josh Lundin to the showers. Chris Rosenbaum greeted new pitcher Brandon Dahl with a RBI single and the Spartans led 4-1.

After the game, UNO coach Bob Herold said that Lundin was pitching with a torn labrum that will need surgery as soon as the season is over.

"He told us in the bullpen that he couldn't feel his arm," Herold said of the senior right-hander. "His velocity was probably 10-13 miles per hour off."

The Mavericks cut the lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the fourth, but Tampa put the game out of reach in the fifth. A two-run single by Rosenbaum was the big hit of the inning and Paul Cruz greeted Tim Huber - UNO's third of six pitchers on the night - with a RBI single that made the score 7-2.

Mena put the exclamation point on the victory with his team-high 14th home run - a two-run blast to left - in the sixth.

"We're not overconfident or laid back," said Mena, who went 4-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored. "We just take it pitch-by-pitch. That's the way we play. Every run counts."

Tampa took a 1-0 lead with two outs in the top of the first when Corrado tripled and Mena knocked him in with a double. UNO (36-22) tied it in the bottom half of the frame.

From there, Jackson was able to manage the game. He allowed several Mavericks to reach base but was able to continually pitch out of trouble.

"All year, Ross has given up some hits, but he's been able to keep us in games," Urso said. "He relies on the movement of his fastball and makes guys put the ball in play. He never gives in."

http://www.tbo.com/sports/MGB8Q8LD82F.html

It's been a great year for the Spartans. Three more games left. :cheers:

Here (http://vstateblazers.com/montgomery/livestats/xlive.htm) is the link to live game stats online for the Championship game in case anyone is interested. So far it is 0-0 in the Top 3rd inning.

Congrats UT! :cheers: :cheers:

UT Takes 2nd Straight Title
By A.A. MOORE, Tribune correspondent

Published: June 2, 2007

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Tampa pitcher Jonathan Holt had pitched in 30 games before Friday night's Division II title game against Columbus State. He had 19 saves and only one start - a four-inning stint in the regional final against Florida Southern on May 20.

But Tampa coach Joe Urso didn't hesitate to start his closer with a chance to win a second straight title and Holt delivered the performance of his career.

In front of an announced crowd of 2,354 at Riverwalk Stadium, Holt pitched a complete-game six-hitter, striking out eight with no walks as Tampa (53-10) beat Columbus State 7-2 to win the Division II baseball championship

It's the sixth time a team has won back-to-back titles, the first since the Spartans did it in 1992-93. It is also Tampa's fifth D-II title.

'It all started with Jonathan Holt,' Urso said. 'A few of the coaches talked before the game and thought he'd go five, maybe seven innings. But he showed us what he's made of.'

Holt (4-2) was named the tournament's most outstanding player.

'At the beginning, Coach Urso and Coach Sam Militello told me to go as long and hard as possible,' Holt said. 'I just took it inning-by-inning, tried to get a save each inning.

'Once I got to the seventh, eighth and ninth, I just used the same mind-set I normally do.'

In a game that started as a pitching duel, Tampa broke it open late with a single run in the eighth and three in the ninth. Chris Rosenbaum had three of the Spartans' 11 hits and drove in two runs while Junior Mejia and Troy Ferguson hit back-to-back home runs in the ninth to seal the win.

'When we fell behind them early, that forced us to play catch-up,' Columbus State head coach Greg Appleton said. 'Holt did a marvelous job and got tougher as the game went on.'

Columbus State (51-19) got on the board first. Jonnie Geiger singled with one out. He stole second and went to third on a throwing error by Rosenbaum. Kurt McKee grounded out to short to score Geiger.

It was the first time Tampa had trailed the entire tournament. But the Spartans stayed the course and didn't take long to get back on top.

'We just kept the same mind-set. It doesn't matter if we're down five or up one, we just have to keep the same mind-set,' said Nolan Brannon, who went 2-for-4 and scored twice.

Jose Jimenez walked with one out and Brannon followed with a solid single to right. But then came arguably the biggest play of the game.

Rosenbaum lined a shot to the gap in right-center that looked like it would go for extra bases. But CSU right fielder Brad Bowen got a great jump on the ball and tracked it down - or so it seemed. The ball appeared to hit Bowen right in his glove, but he was unable to hold onto the ball. The official scorer ruled it a double and Jimenez came home to tie the game.Two batters later, CSU starter Anthony Arrington uncorked a wild pitch to score Brannon. From there, the wheels slowly started to fall off for Columbus State. In the sixth inning, Jimenez scored on a passed ball by catcher Trent Bianco.

Rosenbaum smashed a double to left-center in the eighth to score Brannon. In the ninth, Mejia and Ferguson homered to cap the win.

Rosenbaum, Mejia, Holt and shortstop Roberto Mena were named to the all-tournament team.


http://www2.tbo.com/content/2007/jun/02/sp-ut-takes-2nd-straight-title/?sports