Spartan shorts

By ROD GIPSON

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 5, 2000

TAMPA -- The baseball team may have seen its 10-game winning streak come to an end April 26 at Webber, but a quick rebound and a key upcoming series still remain on the horizon.

The Spartans, ranked No. 2 nationally at 43-8 and Sunshine State Conference champions at 19-2, fell 4-1 to Webber at Babson Park.

The Spartans bounced back against Saint Leo, getting a game-winning single from Jim Kavourias in a 6-5 win. Earlier in the game, he hit his 22nd home run of the year, placing his within three of Tino Martinez's single-season school record of 25.

Ronnie Merrill's first-inning home run gave him a tie for first place on the school's career hit list with 329. He holds the career records for triples and RBI and is two runs shy of breaking the school record for runs scored in a career, which also is an NCAA Division II mark.

On the mound, junior Kris Sutton broke the NCAA Division II single-season appearance record April 30 against Saint Leo with his 36th appearance of the year. In the performance, Sutton pitched three innings of shutout relief.

With its May 9-10 games against Lynn canceled, just a two-game set May 13-14 against North Florida remains on the schedule; the same North Florida team that is No. 1 in the national poll and the same squad that will be at the four-team regional tournament later this month at Baseball City.

Individually, Kavourias is first in the nation in home runs and second per game at 0.46. He also is second in total RBI with 84 and RBI per game (1.83).

Sutton ranks second in ERA (0.75) and is tied for tenth in wins with 10.

Merrill, meanwhile, is third in triples with seven, and Eric Sims is tied for third in stolen bases with 46. Adam Leow is 18th in strikeouts per nine innings with 10.5.

SIGNINGS: The volleyball team announced the signing of Yoshiko Ozawa to a scholarship.

Ozawa, a standout volleyball, softball and basketball player at Berkeley Prep, will focus on volleyball at UT.

Also, the basketball team signed Amy Holmes, a guard from Cincinnati, and the cross country team signed Sickles runner Brian Taylor to a scholarship.

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