Usually I don't make a post until after the weekend's games are done, but I felt obligated to do so with the performances that a couple pitching staffs had on Friday (Feb. 27) afternoon. Both Tampa (against Stillman) and UC San Diego (against Cal State East Bay) tossed one-hitters, with UCSD's coming from a single stellar outing, while Tampa had two pitchers combine in their gem.
First, we will highlight the job well done by UCSD's Justin Donatella, who in a nine-inning game, mowed down the CSEB hitters to the tune of one hit, no walks, one hit by pitch and 11 strikeouts in only 98 pitches. Probably the best pitching performance of the year so far in Division II. The lone hit came in the bottom of the fifth inning, a single through the left side of the infield. But he was stellar throughout the day.
By the way, Donatella this season, in four starts, is 3-1 with a 0.36 ERA, 33 strikeouts and only 13 hits allowed in 25 innings. Silly.
On the other side of the country, Tampa's Jake Mielock and Dylan Barrow combined on a seven-inning one-hitter against Stillman in a classic pitcher's duel. Mielock went the first five innings, allowing one hit with five strikeouts in 68 pitches. Barrow threw a perfect final two innings with three strikeouts. The lone hit for the Tigers came in the top of the first inning before they were shut out the rest of the way.
Not to be outdone, and perhaps even more impressively given the talent on the Tampa lineup card, was Stillman's Hunter Hood, who allowed only two hits throughout the game to the vaunted Spartans. Hood went all six innings, allowing two hits, two runs and one walk with seven strikeouts. A tough way to move to 0-4 on the season.
Tampa and Stillman will finish up their three-game series on Saturday (Feb. 28). They have one of the most intriguing non-conference rivalries in recent years, in my opinion, at least. Stillman, despite usually being an over-matched team when it comes to facing Tampa, seems to give the Spartans struggles when they meet up...in the postseason. They have met in each of the last three years in the South regional tournament, with Stillman being one of the lowest seeds and Tampa being one of the highest seeds every time, but all three of those games have been one-run margins. Tampa has won the last two (3-2 in 2014, 5-4 in 2013), but Stillman got them in 2012, 6-5. The regular season match-ups have been a different story, including a 10-4 Tampa victory earlier on Friday to begin this current series.
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