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By ROD GIPSON
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 20, 2001
Tampa takes title 21-5 vs. Saint Leo
TAMPA -- Before Saturday's South Region final against Saint Leo, Tampa's things-to-do list included: pitch well, hit well and play defense. Ten minutes into the game this was added: Book tickets to Alabama.
With a six-run first inning, and more to follow, the Spartans defeated Saint Leo 21-5 to claim the championship and advance to the Division II World Series in Montgomery, Ala. UT (49-8) opens Saturday night against the North Central Region champion. It will be the Spartans' eighth World Series. UT was national champion in 1992, '93 and '98.
"This is a big accomplishment," said first-year UT coach Joe Urso, a member of the '92 team. "When you're talking about UT baseball, there is a lot of pride with that. That's why this program is so special."
UT capped its region title run with 20 hits and a post-season school-record 21 runs against Saint Leo (35-24). When Charlie Manning, the second batter, tripled in Adam Bragg, the Spartans were just warming up. Six batters later, third baseman Angel Cruz hit a grand slam.
"When a team has done as well as we have, everybody expects you to be the best," said Cruz, who was 4-for-5 with two homers and six RBI. "It's a little bit of pressure but it makes you play at your best level."
In the third inning UT catcher Mike Rabelo hit the first of his two home runs and Cruz added another shot. Tom Jachimczyk's two-run double highlighted an eight-run fourth.
"There really wasn't an opportunity for a turning point because Tampa played so well," Saint Leo coach Ed Stabile said.
UT junior pitcher Sam Figueroa allowed five hits and four runs in five innings. Casey McKenzie, Heath Busa and Kris Sutton followed.
"For us to get to the World Series like this, it's really special," Urso said. "Hopefully we can keep this momentum."
Cruz, who also scored three runs, was named the tournament's MVP. Centerfielder Dwight Edge had three hits and Neal Maybin, Bragg and Rabelo each had two hits. If there was any bad news, it came in the second inning when Manning, who was playing first base, misplayed a pickoff attempt and was hit in the face with the ball. Manning was taken to Tampa General for observation of a possible fractured cheekbone.
JACKSONVILLE -- UCF defeated Jacksonville 11-2 for its fifth conference title since joining in 1993. Catcher George Cox was 4-for-5 with a triple, double and RBI. Jacksonville beat UCF 10-9 earlier Saturday, forcing the second game. UCF's Mike Myers of Dunedin, who had his school-record hitting streak end at 26 in the first game, made the all-tournament team. UCF's Jeremy Kurella was named tournament MVP.
USF 7, SOUTHERN MISS 4: Daniel Boyd singled home the tiebreaking runs as the Bulls advanced to today's championship game in New Orleans. USF defeated the Golden Eagles 6-4 earlier Saturday and plays Tulane or Memphis for the title. USF starter Jason Bartz got the win. Top-seeded Tulane stayed alive when Jon Kaplan hit a home run with two outs in the 13th to defeat Memphis 7-6 and force a rematch later Saturday night. Tulane's Beau Richardson pitched 10 innings, a tournament record.
N.C. STATE 6, GEORGIA TECH 4: Joe Gaetti, the son of major-leaguer Gary Gaetti, hit his third homer of the tournament -- a three-run shot in the eighth to eliminate the defending champion Yellow Jackets. He came into the tournament hitting .241. The Wolfpack played FSU later Saturday night, with the winner playing Wake Forest in today's championship. Georgia Tech, which had won seven straight ACC tournament games, lost its second straight. Its season, though, likely will continue after the NCAA Tournament pairings come out Monday.
ALL-ACC TEAM: Outfielder John-Ford Griffin, the ACC's leading hitter at .456, and FSU teammates Ryan Barthelemy (first base) and starting pitcher Blair Varnes were on the first team. The others: Clemson third baseman Jeff Baker, shortstop Khalil Greene, designated hitter Jarrod Schmidt and starter Steve Reba; North Carolina second baseman Russ Adams; Georgia Tech catcher Bryan Prince; Wake Forest outfielder Cory Sullivan; N.C. State outfielder Brian Wright; Virginia utility player Dan Street; Virginia pitcher Brandon Creswell and Wake Forest pitcher Dave Bush.
LSU 12, MISSISSIPPI 6: Todd Linden hit two home runs and tied the tournament record with six RBI to lead the Tigers to today's championship game against Mississippi State. LSU has won its three tournament games by a total of 27 runs. The Rebels' Josh Christian went 5-for-5 with a pair of two-run homers.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 1, USC 0: Joey Collums and Brandon Medders combined on an eight-hitter to lead the Bulldogs. The Gamecocks defeated Mississippi 7-6 earlier Saturday on Garris Gonce's inside-the-park home run with two outs in the ninth. "You don't see too many 1-0 ballgames in college baseball," Mississippi State coach Pat McMahon said. "They were two outstanding baseball games. What a heck of a day."
BIG EAST: Joe Scott's triple capped a three-run fourth as Seton Hall defeated Virginia Tech 5-2 in the tournament championship game.
SUN BELT: South Alabama won its second straight conference title, defeating Middle Tennessee 11-2. Ryan Mulhern was named the most outstanding player.
- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.