UT Baseball Team Wins Region Opener
Published: May 18, 2007
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TAMPA - Jonathan Holt peered into the dugout, looking for some guidance in the midst of the most crucial moment in the University of Tampa's NCAA II South Regional baseball opener against Stillman College.
The Spartans' five-run lead was down to two in the eighth Thursday when Holt, trying to close out his first postseason game with UT, prepared for a full-count pitch to cleanup batter David Holcombe. The tying runs were in scoring position with one out.
"Normally, with a full count he would throw a fastball, but we pointed at him, like saying, 'It's up to you, whatever you feel comfortable with,'" UT coach Joe Urso said.
Holt went with a slider, which broke sharply off the plate, and struck out Holcombe swinging. He went on to record the final four outs in the Spartans' 5-3 victory, UT's 13th win in a row and ninth consecutive postseason victory, including last year's national championship run.
The Spartans (46-9) will play No. 3 seed Carson-Newman, a 9-2 loser to Florida Gulf Coast, at 3 p.m. today at the UT Baseball Field. Ace left-hander Kevin Ferguson (11-2) will start for the Spartans, and Holt will be available to pitch.
Stillman (26-18) will play Florida Southern, a 4-1 loser to Tusculum, in an elimination game at 11 a.m.
Holt now has 17 saves, second-best in Division II. But the win went to starter Anthony Perez (6-0), who threw six shutout innings despite a limited pitch count.
The freshman from Miami had struggled in his starts to begin the season and made most of his appearances from the bullpen during Sunshine State Conference play. He retired 12 consecutive hitters at one point Thursday, finishing with three hits allowed and six strikeouts.
"I know I struggled earlier in the year, but little by little I've been regaining my confidence," Perez said. "I just wanted to go out there and throw strikes and be aggressive in the zone."
Perez left after UT took a 5-0 lead on a sixth-inning RBI single by Nolan Brannon, which capped a 3-for-3, two-RBI day for the first baseman. The Spartans opened the scoring on Roberto Mena's fourth-inning solo homer, his ninth in the past 10 games. They added three runs on one hit in the fifth.
But Stillman, the No. 6 seed in the tournament, proved it could play with the nation's No. 1-ranked D-II team. The Tigers got to reliever Craig Benner for all their runs in the eighth. A bases-loaded, two-run single up the middle by Clay Gilliam led to Benner's exit and Holt's save.
Though it was not the blowout victory UT has been accustomed to the past two seasons, Urso said it invoked an equally good feeling - relief.
"I think the first step is very important, because there's so many new guys that didn't really know what it was about until they stepped on the field," he said. "Now they know."
TUSCULUM 4, FLA. SOUTHERN 1: The second-seeded Pioneers (49-12) got six scoreless innings from starter C.J. Hillyer and took advantage of rare defensive miscues by the fifth-seeded Moccasins (40-15).
The victory set up a matchup of tournament unbeatens tonight at 7 when Tusculum plays Florida Gulf Coast.
