Advertisement

University of Tampa is one win away from its eighth baseball national title

The Spartans face top-ranked Colorado Mesa on Saturday with two chances to get the one victory they need for another NCAA Division II championship.
 
University of Tampa junior shortstop Mikey Navarette holds the team's "rally chicken" in the dugout Thursday during the Spartans' victory over Mercyhurst University (Erie, Pa.) that sent UT into Saturday's championship round of the NCAA Division II baseball tournament in Cary, N.C.
University of Tampa junior shortstop Mikey Navarette holds the team's "rally chicken" in the dugout Thursday during the Spartans' victory over Mercyhurst University (Erie, Pa.) that sent UT into Saturday's championship round of the NCAA Division II baseball tournament in Cary, N.C.
Published June 7, 2019|Updated June 8, 2019

CARY, N.C. — As the top seeds in the Division II College World Series, the University of Tampa and Colorado Mesa have been on a collision course since arriving at the USA Baseball Training Complex a week ago.

At 3 p.m. Saturday, weather permitting, they’ll finally play in the championship round of the double-elimination tournament.

As the tournament’s only unbeaten team, the Spartans (44-14) will have two chances to win the one game needed for the program’s eighth national championship, second only to the nine Division II titles for Florida Southern.

Related: MORE UT: How the Spartans reached the final

It’s an advantage Tampa coach Joe Urso said he’s happy to have against top-ranked Colorado Mesa.

“I feel like the best two teams are left standing, and we’re in for an exciting finish,” said Urso, a Tampa native who has four national titles in 19 seasons as Spartans coach and one as a player (1992).

Colorado Mesa (53-11) reached the final round with a 1-0 win over Central Missouri 1-0 late Thursday.

“They have great pitching depth,” Urso said. “We hope to find a way to win in a low-scoring game.”

The No. 2 Spartans are expected to start their top pitcher, senior right-hander Kevin Pimentel, who will also be working on full rest after going seven strong innings Sunday. Junior right-hander Trevin Reynolds is the Mavericks’ expected starter after allowing only one earned run in six innings of his team’s CWS opener against New York Institute of Technology last Saturday.

UT has yet to lose this postseason, breezing through its South Region and sweeping two straight from Delta State in the Super Region. Its momentum has gained even more steam in this tournament.

After opening with a close call against Mercyhurst, a game in which the Spartans waited until the eighth inning to score all four of their runs in a 4-2 win, they beat UC San Diego 7-2. Tampa then pounded out 16 hits in a 12-0 rout of Mercyhurst on Thursday, meaning it only had to play one game that day to reach the final.

Colorado Mesa had to play twice Thursday after losing 7-4 to Central Missouri earlier in the day.

“It’s definitely a big advantage not having to play that second game,” Spartans senior catcher Danny Sirvin said. “We were able to save our arms, save our bodies.”

Tampa All-America leftfielder Yorvis Torrealba, son of former major-league catcher Yorvit Torrealba, leads the Spartans at nationals with six hits and four RBIs. Shortstop Nick DeTringo of Tampa Prep has five hits, including a home run, in three games. Sirvin, Cole Perry and Danny Blair have four hits each.