Sports

Colleges

'Noles sweep BC behind Thomas' bat

By wire services
Published April 10, 2006

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BOSTON - Tony Thomas hit a grand slam in a five-run fourth inning as FSU completed a three-game sweep with a 7-5 win over Boston College on Sunday.

Ryne Malone also homered for the Seminoles (31-4, 12-3 ACC) and Thomas drew a bases-loaded walk in the seventh inning to finish with five RBIs.

"I definitely feel good," said Thomas, of his offensive performance. "Any time I see someone on base it is my job to get them in any way I can. Just putting the ball in play is helping me and helping the team get some runs across the plate."

Barret Browning gave up seven hits and two runs in five innings for the win.

The Eagles (16-15-1, 4-11) out-hit the Seminoles 14-7.

Outfielder Shane Robinson started the fourth-inning outbreak by upping his hit streak to 22 games with single up the middle. Jack Rye walked, followed by a base hit on an attempted sacrifice bunt. Robinson scored on a fielder's choice, making way for Thomas' grand slam.

UF: No. 23 Kentucky claimed its first home series win against UF since 1994 with an 8-6 victory over the Gators. The Wildcats jumped ahead 7-0 thanks to four home runs, the most surrendered by UF this season.

USF: Notre Dame completed a three-game sweep of the host Bulls with a 10-1 victory.

UCF: Left-hander Brody Taylor allowed just one runner after the fourth to help East Carolina beat the host Golden Knights 8-1.

MIAMI: Reid Fronk had two home runs and four RBIs to help visiting North Carolina win 9-6.

STETSON: Brian Bocock had three hits and Chris Johnson drove in four as the Hatters completed a three-game sweep over host Belmont with a 9-1 victory.

SOFTBALL

UF splits doubleheader

The No. 24 Gators hit two solo home runs to beat No. 5 Tennessee 2-0 in game one, and lost 8-0 in game two. Still, UF won the series, making it the fifth SEC series win in six tries this season.

Junior Lauren Roussell and freshman Brooke Johnson each homered for UF in the fifth inning of the first game.

FSU: The Seminoles hit three home runs in the sixth during an 8-5 win over host Virginia, salvaging a series split.

USF: The Bulls on 8-3 and 3-2 over host Providence.

UCF: Cici Alvarez went 3-for-3 at the plate but the Golden Knights fell 7-5 to host Alabama-Birmingham.

TENNIS

UF women claim crown

The Gators downed Kentucky 6-1 to claim at least a share of the SEC regular season and Eastern Division titles. The team started the day by being swept and losing the doubles point for the second straight match, then rebounded by reeling off a singles sweep to finish the day.

UF (17-1, 10-0 SEC) travels to Columbia, S.C., to face South Carolina on Saturday for the chance to win the league championship outright. This is Florida's 21st SEC title in the 27-year history of conference play.

The No. 15 men's team got its fourth win over a top 25 opponent, 4-3 at No. 21 Kentucky.

USF: The men's team lost 5-2 to Louisville at home. Bulls doubles Marc Jaeger and Dillon Brozyna defeated No. 28 Jeremy Clark and Jakob Gustafsson 8-3, for their first win against a ranked opponent.

ET CETERA

BASKETBALL: Fran Dunphy, who turned Penn into an NCAA tournament regular, will take over at Temple to replace Hall of Fame coach John Chaney. The school has a news conference scheduled for 3 p.m. today.

GYMNASTICS: UF will appear in Session II of the NCAA Championships team qualifying competition at 10 p.m. April 20 in Corvallis, Ore.

[Last modified April 10, 2006, 01:57:35]

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