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Compiled from school press releases
Published March 6, 2008

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SOUTH FLORIDA

Baseball

Bulls Stumble on the Road

DAYTONA BEACH, - Freshman outfielder Ryan Lockwood was 3-for-5 at the plate in the University of South Florida's 8-4 loss to the Bethune-Cookman Tigers Wednesday night.

USF drops to 3-5 this season and BCU improves to 5-3 after the non-conference matchup in Daytona Beach.

Lockwood led off the game with a single up the middle, recording his eighth hit of his rookie season. In the seventh, Lockwood doubled to right field, then in the eighth, he drove in USF's third run with a single up the middle.

Lockwood's 10 hits this season are second-best on the team, behind junior shortstop Addison Maruszak's 11.

After Lockwood's first-inning single and a stolen base, the Jesuit High graduate scored on a sac fly from Maruszak. Bethune-Cookman then recorded eight runs over the next four innings before USF tallied a run in the top of the final three innings.

In the seventh, Lockwood's double and a pair of walks to freshmen Jonathan Koscso and Stephen Hunt loaded the bases for the Bulls. A sacrifice hit from senior Eric Baumann scored Lockwood, USF's second run of the game.

An inning later, junior Brandon Smith was hit by a pitch, and a single from Lockwood scored Smith as Lockwood picked up his sixth RBI of the season.

BCU dealt the Bulls two walks to start the ninth, then a sac fly from junior catcher Corey Johnson scored Maruszak, USF's final run.

USF's starting pitcher, Derrick Stultz, was tagged with the loss, as he struck out four and allowed four runs from as many hits in three innings. Freshmen Junior Carlin (1.0 IP) and Doug Wagner (3.0 IP) each struck out two before senior David Torcise sat down one, in the bottom of the eighth.

On Friday, the Bulls return to Red McEwen Field to begin a three-game weekend series with Savannah State. The Bulls and Tigers start the weekend Friday at 7 p.m., then will meet again Saturday at 7 p.m. Sunday's first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Men's Tennis

Bulls Tame Wildcats

TAMPA. - The No. 34-ranked University of South Florida men's tennis team backed up their recent-21 spot jump in the Intercollegiate Rankings by blanking the Villanova Wildcats, 7-0, Wednesday afternoon at The USF Varsity Tennis Courts.

"I was happy with the way we established control of the match and took care of business," said head coach Don Barr. "We have to finish this week strong and stay aggressive in order to build confidence for the rest of the season."

After sweeping the doubles point for the third-straight match, the Bulls went to work in singles competition, not allowing a Wildcat to win more then four games from any USF player.

After teaming up with Jamal Adderley in their doubles win, Mahmoud Hamed sat out the singles portion of the match, allowing everyone to move up one spot in the line up.

Sophomore Diego Toledo was off the court first as we downed his opponent, Brett Tobin, 6-0, 6-1 at the No. 3 singles spot. The victory raises his dual-math record to 7-3 overall and stays a perfect 3-0 at the No. 3 spot.

"My serve and return was on during this match," said Toledo. "I made sure to exploit his weak forehand and to always dictate the point."

No. 78 Lucas Jovita remained perfect at the top singles position, taking care of Dimitri Chimerakis, 6-2, 6-0.

The victory brings his overall record to 7-3 and 5-0 at the No. 1 spot.

Freshman Michael Nusslein made a successful return to the line up after sitting out the FAU and St. John's matches with his 6-1, 6-3 victory against David Shaheen at the No. 5 spot.

Fellow freshman Jamal Adderley also picked up a victory with his 6-1, 6-2 triumph over Brian Maher at the second spot.

The USF freshman trio of Jovita, Nusslein and Adderley are a combined 21-7 on the season.

"You can't say enough about the effort these guys have put in this year," added Barr. "It's great for the future when you can have freshman contribute right away."

The Bulls will play two more at home this weekend when they base the Boston College Eagles on Friday, March 7 and the Georgia State Panthers on Saturday, March 8. Match times are 2 p.m. and 1 p.m. respectively at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts.

Women's Tennis

Bulls Make Quick Work Of Wildcats

TAMPA. - In their first home match of the dual-math season, the University of South Florida women's tennis team blanked the Villanova Wildcats, 7-0, Wednesday afternoon at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts.

"We played really well today for our first home match," said head coach Agustin Moreno. "We had a tough situation earlier in the season playing a lot on the road and indoors but it is great to get back out in the sunshine and play at our home court."

If you blinked, you might have missed the match as the Green and Gold breezed by the Wildcats in a mere one hour and forty five minutes.

First off the court for the Bulls in singles competition was junior Iciri Rai who blew by her opponent Ashley Reed, 6-0, 6-0, in a little over thirty minutes. With the win, Rai is now 9-5 on the season.

"I felt that she (Reed) couldn't keep up with my power," said Rai who is sporting brand new red contact lenses. "I'm honestly just glad to finally play in front of our fans for the first time this season."

Not far behind Rai was senior Liz Cruz who downed her opponent, Courtney Reed, 6-0, 6-0 at the No. 3 spot in the line up. The win brings her dual-math record back to .500 at 6-6.

"I felt very confident today," said Cruz. "If I was down 30-0, I knew that I could come back to win the point"

Freshman Natalia Guevara clinched the match for USF at the No. 6 position with her 6-0, 6-0 victory against Katherine Monari. She raised her season record to 6-5.

"I was very impressed with the energy that we all had on the courts today," said Guevara. "It was so much nicer to play at home and outdoors for a change."

No. 49-ranked freshman Janette Bejlkova stayed perfect on the season with her 6-0, 6-0 victory over Carla Erskine. All of Bejlkova's seven victories came at the top position.

Sophomore Allyn Mueller (6-1, 6-2) and Jessica Zok (6-3, 6-0) also picked up victories at the No. 4 and 2 spots.

"This is one of the most complete teams I have had the please of coaching," said Moreno. "Our goal is to push strong towards the end of the season and repeat as conference champions. These girls are ready to play."

After a very short one-match home stand, the Bulls will take to the road when they face the Seton Hall Pirates on Saturday, March 8 and the St. John's Red Storm on Monday, March 10. Match times are at 6:30 p.m. and 10 a.m. respectively.

FLORIDA

Florida Blanks Campbell, 15-0

GAINESVILLE - Freshman Travis Lawler (College Station, Texas) (1-0) fired five scoreless innings to earn his first collegiate victory as Florida (8-2) completed a two-game sweep of Campbell (3-5) with a 15-0 shutout on Wednesday at McKethan Stadium. The right-hander allowed three singles and was supported by an offense which tallied 14 hits and clubbed a season-high three home runs. A quartet of relievers combined on the Gators' second shutout of the season as head coach Kevin O'Sullivan's club improved to 7-0 at home. After yielding three runs in the top of the first during Tuesday'a 15-3 win, Florida's pitching staff twirled 17.1 consecutive scoreless innings.

Freshman Chris Freshcorn (Tampa) (2-for-2) cranked a pinch-hit two-run homer on the first pitch he saw as a collegian in the seventh and tacked on an RBI single the next inning. Sophomore Matt den Dekker (Ft. Lauderdale) (2-for-5, three runs) connected on a three-run homer in the third and sophomore Hampton Tignor (Sarasota) (2-for-2, three RBI, two runs) smacked his first career dinger in the eighth with a two-run jack.

The Gators jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first against Campbell junior right-hander Josh Fish (0-1) courtesy of an RBI double by sophomore Cole Figueroa (Tallahassee) and a run-scoring single by sophomore Jonathan Pigott (Ormond Beach). Sophomore Clayton Pisani (Naples) had drawn a one-out walk and Figueroa followed with his team-leading fourth two-bagger for his 18th RBI. After senior Bryson Barber (Pensacola) earned a free pass with two down, Pigott raised his hitting streak to 14 games with a single into right that brought home Figueroa.

Pisani delivered a two-out RBI double in the second and an error on senior Brandon McArthur's (Seffner) grounder resulted in a 4-0 UF advantage. A fielder's choice by den Dekker erased junior Teddy Foster (Jacksonville) at second but then Pisani roped a 0-1 pitch into left center to drive in his teammate. Figueroa drew a walk for a pair of runners aboard and McArthur's grounder was misplayed by sophomore shortstop Zach Johnson, enabling Pisani to come across.

den Dekker cranked a three-run blast in the third stanza to put the Orange and Blue up by a 7-0 margin. Fish retired the first two batters before freshman Evan Chambers (Lakeland) reached on Johnson's second error of the afternoon. Following a walk to Foster, freshman Wes Edwards replaced Fish (2.2 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 4 BB) on the hill. den Dekker launched the righty's second pitch deep over the wall in right for his second round-tripper of the season.

After Florida junior J.K. LaCoste (Jacksonville) kept the Fighting Camels off the board in the sixth, freshman Ellis Lowe greeted freshman reliever Cody Barnes (San Mateo) with a leadoff double in the seventh. Although a one-out single by junior John Watlington left runners on the corners, Barnes worked out of trouble by striking out Johnson and had junior Carlton Floyd ground out.

In the bottom of the frame, the hosts increased their lead to 10-0 on Freshcorn's two-run homer that came on his first collegiate swing. Senior Jon Townsend (London, Ky.) reached on a throwing error to begin the stanza and scored on Tignor's single through the left side of the infield. Pinch hitting for Pisani with two down, Freshcorn jumped on junior Trevor Smith's (3.1 IP, 7 H, 8 R) initial offering and sent it over the left-field wall for a memorable first hit.

The Gators erupted for five runs on five hits with two down in the eighth to finalize the 15-0 margin. Pigott singled and Townsend walked before Chambers' first collegiate hit to left field drove in Pigott and a fielding miscue on the play allowed Townsend to score. Tignor stepped to the dish and belted Smith's 0-1 pitch to left to clear the bases. den Dekker followed with a double and scored on Freshcorn's base-knock up the middle to complete the scoring barrage.

Florida doubled up Campbell in the hit column, 14-7, with seven going for extra bases. Pigott was 3-for-5, while den Dekker, Pisani, Freshcorn and Tignor chipped in with two hits apiece. Lowe was 4-for-4 for the Fighting Camels. Junior LHP Stephen Locke (Tampa) and sophomore RHP Kyle Mullaney (Jacksonville) each threw a scoreless frame to close the game. The Gators will host defending Ivy League champion Brown (2-2) in a weekend series at McKethan Stadium. Friday's opener willbegin at 6:30 p.m.

FLORIDA STATE

Baseball

Ten-Run Eighth Pushes Florida State Past UNC Asheville

Tallahassee, - For seven innings on Wednesday night it looked as though UNC Asheville would hand Florida State its first loss of the season. But thanks to a 10-run eighth inning, the Seminoles (9-0) erased a five-run deficit and remained undefeated on the year downing the Bulldogs (4-6) 10-5.

Florida State sent 15 batters to the plate in the eighth registering seven hits including a three-run blast off the scoreboard by Delmonico to give the Seminoles the lead for good and a two-run shot into the parking lot in right field by Ohmed Danesh. The Seminoles drew five walks in the eighth and hit for the cycle posting two home runs, a triple, a double and three singles.

"We battled to the end and showed a lot of character tonight," said Delmonico. "You have to give a lot of credit to our pitchers for keeping us in the game. This was an all around team win for us."

Freshman Mike McGee collected his third three-hit game of the season scoring a pair of runs. Delmonico went 2-for-5 with three RBIs and a run scored while centerfielder Tyler Holt was 2-for-3 with three walks, a run scored and an RBI.

Tallahassee native Tyler Everett took the hill for his first start of the season and worked five solid innings. He allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits. The freshman right hander walked four and struck out one in earning a no decision.

"I felt a lot more comfortable out there tonight," explained Everett. "I was able to find my location on a lot of pitches, unfortunately I made two pitches that they hit out, but I was able to recover and settle down."

The Bulldogs scored on a pair of solo home runs off Everett in the first and fourth innings by Kevin Mattison and Reed Kreiser, respectively.

UNC Asheville starting pitcher Taylor Wohlwend kept the Seminole batters at bay for 6.2 shutout innings allowing just five hits. Despite giving up six walks, he seemed to frustrate the Florida State lineup as the Seminoles couldn't crack the scoreboard leaving eight runners on base from the third to the sixth inning.

In the seventh, Wohlwend was pulled with two outs and runners on first and second. Reliever Dillon Waters came into the game and after issuing a walk to Dennis Guinn to load the bases got Delmonico swinging on strikes to end the inning.

In the eighth, things started to unravel for the Bulldogs as the first five batters reached. McGee led off the inning lacing a double down the right field line. The next three batters followed with a walk including a bases loaded RBI walk to pinch hitter Jack Posey to push across McGee for the first Seminole run of the game. Holt then singled back up the middle to drive in Danesh. After an RBI groundout by Jack Rye made the score 5-3, Buster Posey sent a rocket shot that tied up the Bulldog left fielder and dropped in for a base hit. Pinch runner Ruairi O'Connor and Holt scored on the play to tie the game up at five. After a walk to Guinn put runners at first and second, Delmonico stepped in and belted a three-run shot off the scoreboard in left to give the Seminoles their first lead of the game. McGee registered his second hit of the inning with a single to right and came around to score on Danesh's first home run of the season. Pinch hitter Tommy Oravetz collected the final hit of the inning drilling a triple off the fence in right field for his first career three bagger. UNC Asheville sent three pitchers to the mound in the eighth.

Ryan Strauss, Ben Francis and Jimmy Marshall came out of the bullpen on Wednesday evening and did their job in keeping the Seminoles in the ballgame. The trio worked a combined four innings giving up two runs on four hits. They registered four strikeouts and three base-on-balls. Francis pitched the eighth and was credited with the win, his first career victory.

Marshall came on in the ninth and recorded a pair of strikeouts and a fly out to right to cap off the Seminoles first come-from-behind victory of the season.

Florida State will return to the diamond on Friday, March 7 as the Seminoles open ACC play with a three-game set against the Maryland Terrapins. Friday and Saturday's contest are scheduled to start at 6:00 pm, while Sunday's game time was moved to a 12 noon start due to a travel conflict with Maryland.

ECKERD

Baseball

ROUGH FIRST INNING DOOMS BASEBALL IN LOSS

ST. PETERSBURG. - A sluggish start out of the gate cost the Eckerd College baseball team as they surrendered seven runs in the first inning as they fell 10-9 to visiting Saint Anselm College on Wednesday afternoon from Turley Field.

The top of the first inning proved to be the difference as EC starting pitcher Anthony Katchuk could not get out of the frame. He managed to fan one batter but gave up six hits and two walks, including a grand slam from Hawks' freshman Matt Sucharewicz.

After the marathon first inning, Head Coach Bill Mathews would call on reliever Bobby Gibbons to shut the visitors down. Gibbons would come through for the Tritons as he tossed almost seven innings limiting the visitors to a lone run.

While EC pitching was keeping the Hawks at bay, the Eckerd bats began to heat up. The Tritons plated four runs in the bottom of the first, with a three-run home run from sophomore Tim Lorek the biggest hit. Eckerd added another run in the second and saw the score at 8-7 as the game advanced to the eighth inning.

Hawk's freshman Dave Wirkus proved to be the difference in the game as he blasted a two-run homer in the top of the eighth. Eckerd plated two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning, but could not get any more runs across in the loss.

The Tritons, who had their five-game win streak snapped in the loss, will now face Lynn University in Sunshine State Conference action at Turley Field. The first game is scheduled for Friday evening at 7:00 pm.

SAINT LEO

Lacrosse

SAINT LEO DEFEATS GRAND CANYON 21-6

Brigham, Morrison and Guerin Score Two Goals and Add Three Assists Each

Saint Leo, (March 5, 2008) - The Saint Leo University lacrosse team (3-1) won its second straight game with a 21-6 victory over visiting Grand Canyon University (0-6) on Wednesday night at University Field.

Saint Leo used an offensive explosion that saw 13 different players score and seven players record multiple-goal games, as the Lions outshot the Antelopes 57-20 in the game. Leading the way were Joe Guerin (So., Palm Beach Gardens), Benjamin Brigham (Jr., Scituate, Mass.) and Alex Morrison (Fr., Coral Springs) who scored two goals and added three assists each in the romp.

The Lions got on the board early and often in the contest, opening the scoring just 1:21 into the game and scoring the game's first five goals overall. Grand Canyon scored a pair of goals in a span of 23 seconds late in the first quarter to make it 5-2 after one.

Saint Leo stretched its lead to 13-4 at half-time, erupting for eight goals in the second quarter including six unanswered. The Lions then held the Antelopes off the scoreboard in the third quarter, adding a pair of goals to make it a 15-4 lead.

The scoring eventually wound down with the Lions netting six times in the final quarter and coming away with the big victory.

Saint Leo hits the road this weekend for a pair of games in North and South Carolina. The Lions will face Queens University on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and then take on No. 3 Limestone College on Tuesday, March 11 at 3:30 p.m.

Baseball

SAINT LEO SWEEPS SAINT ROSE

Lions Extend Winning Streak to Five Games With Conference Opener on the Horizon

Saint Leo. (March 5, 2008) - The Saint Leo University baseball (15-6) extended its winning streak to five games with a doubleheader sweep of the visiting College of Saint Rose (1-9) on Wednesday night in non-conference action. The Lions won game one 8-3 before wrapping up a second consecutive doubleheader sweep with a 6-2 decision in the nightcap.

Senior 1B Brandin Daniel (Punta Gorda) went 2-for-3 with two RBI, a home run and a pair of runs scored in the opener. In the second half of the twinbill, Jonathan Duncan (Jr., Starke) provided the firepower with a 2-for-4 performance, two RBI and a homer.

The Lions used a five-run second inning to jumpstart their evening. Daniel delivered an RBI single with the bases loaded to start the scoring and senior 3B Devon Cason (Tampa.) drew a bases loaded walk later in the inning. Bobby Munoz (Jr., Tampa) also brought home a run with an RBI single.

Saint Rose answered with three runs in the third inning to make it a 5-3 game, but the Lions plated two more runs in the sixth highlighted by Daniel's solo homer. Saint Leo iced the win with another solo shot in the eighth off the bat of senior RF Yunior Tabares (Tampa).

Saint Leo starter Shane Buriff (Sr., Lutz) was credited with the game one win, as he went 5.0 innings and allowed three runs on four hits. Relievers Dale Slimick (Jr., Sarasota) and Matt Smith (Sr., Dade city) combined to shutout the Knights for the final 4.0 innings, while allowing just one hit.

In game two the Golden Knights took a 1-0 lead with a run in the first, but Saint Leo quickly answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning. Munoz delivered another RBI single, while a ground out by Tabares scored the second run of the inning to give Saint Leo a 2-1 lead.

The Lions made it 4-1 in the third when Duncan hit a two-run home run to right centerfield. Saint Rose scored one run in the fifth, but SLU added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth to cement the doubleheader sweep.

Freshman Matthew Smith (Land O'Lakes) picked up the win in game two (2-0), allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and striking out four in 5.0 innings of work. Stephen Daneman (Fr., Tampa) allowed just one hit and struck out five in 2.0 innings of scoreless relief.

Saint Leo will open its Sunshine State Conference schedule this weekend with a series at Florida Tech. The teams will meet Friday at 3:00 p.m. with a doubleheader scheduled for Saturday at noon in Melbourne.

 

[Last modified March 6, 2008, 01:21:40]

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