Spartans Advance To South Regional Final
Published: May 20, 2007
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TAMPA - Any college baseball coach will say the key to winning in the postseason is managing the pitching staff. And for the third consecutive game, University of Tampa coach Joe Urso made all the right moves.
He took calculated risks by not throwing staff ace Kevin Ferguson in either of the first two games, and they paid off when the tricky left-hander threw eight strong innings against second-seeded Tusculum. Meanwhile, UT's offense gave an exhibition on how to play small ball Saturday, good enough for a 5-3 victory in the NCAA II South Regional.
It is the Spartans' (48-9) 11th consecutive postseason win, setting up a regional final with rival Florida Southern today at 1 p.m. at the UT Baseball Field. The game pits the past two national champions from Division II against each other. The fifth-seeded Moccasins (43-15) eliminated Florida Gulf Coast 4-1 in the afternoon game, and then scored nine runs in the third inning of the nightcap, knocking out Tusculum 13-7.
"You do your best as a coach to put these guys in a position to win," Urso said of his decision-making. "They have to play the game; we don't do that for them. We felt that it was the right decision and they made us look smart."
Said Ferguson of having to wait to make his postseason debut: "If Coach thinks it's the best thing to do to hold me back a little bit, then I'm all for it."
Ferguson (12-2) was staked to a 2-0 lead on a first-inning, bases-loaded single by Nolan Brannon, who is hitting .556 in the postseason. He never relinquished it, though there were a few tense moments.
Tusculum (50-13) appeared ready to pull even in the fourth when Aaron Porter singled with runners at second and third. But Tampa left fielder Troy Ferguson gunned down the trailing runner with a perfect throw to the plate, preserving the lead.
Kevin Ferguson showed fatigue in the seventh, walking the bases loaded with one out. Scott Leffler began to warm up in the bullpen, but Ferguson battled and allowed only one run in the inning.
"It's probably the first time that I've listened to a pitcher," Urso said of leaving his ace in.
Ferguson pitched a perfect eighth and allowed a hit in the ninth before closer Jonathan Holt notched his third save (19th this year) in as many days and tournament games.
"We knew our only chance was to have Fergy go deep into the game," Urso said.
Craig Corrado had two runs scored and two hits, giving him a school-record 105 hits for the season.
The Spartans took two of three from Florida Southern in the regular season, and need one more win to advance to their second consecutive D-II World Series. Florida Southern must beat UT twice, including a 5 p.m. game if necessary, to take the region.
The Spartans will start Ross Jackson, who is 8-4 with a 3.86 ERA.
TENNESSEE 11, FLORIDA 7: J.P. Arencibia had three RBIs and four hits to help Tennessee beat Florida (28-28, 15-15 SEC). Tennessee (33-32, 13-15) scored five runs in the top of the first inning and four in the sixth.
FLORIDA STATE 17, GEORGIA TECH 11: Third-ranked Florida State (46-9, 24-6 ACC) earned its first three-game series sweep against Georgia Tech with a victory to close out the regular season. FSU's Ohmed Danesh recorded his first collegiate three-hit game, going 3-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs.
MIAMI 14, DUKE 5: Yonder Alonso had six RBIs and four hits for Miami (34-20, 17-13 ACC), which scored nine runs in the third inning. Roger Tomas had one RBI and four hits for Miami.
UF Softball Advances To Regional Final
GAINESVILLE - The No. 19 University of Florida softball team advanced to the NCAA Gainesville Regional final with an 8-0, five-inning win against No. 17 Georgia Tech on Saturday at the Florida Softball Stadium.
The Gators earned their school-record 48th win of the season.
Florida faces Texas today at 1 p.m. for a chance to advance to a super regional. Should Texas win, another game would be played at 3:30.
Freshman Francesca Enea hit a grand slam in the top of the third to give the Gators a 4-0 lead.
Sophomore Kim Waleszonia reached on a bunt single to lead off the inning and advanced to second on a throwing error by the Yellow Jackets catcher. She moved to third on a sacrifice by senior Lauren Roussell.
Following Melissa Zick's ground out, Ali Gardiner was hit by a pitch and Mary Ratliff drew a walk to load the bases for Enea. Tiffany Johnson came in to replace Whitney Humphries, allowing the grand slam.
ALABAMA 6, FLORIDA STATE 3: The Crimson Tide ended Florida State's season. FSU finished 44-25, its 26th 40-win season under Coach JoAnne Graf.
Information from Tribune wires was used in this report.
