NEWBERRY, S.C. – In their final tune-up prior to the NCAA Southeast Regional next weekend, the No. 9 Newberry College baseball team (41-13) dropped both games of their Friday doubleheader to the No. 3 Tampa Spartans (40-9). The Wolves dropped the first game 12-4 and, despite outhitting the Spartans in game two, dropped the final contest of the series 16-11.

Junior right handed pitcher Matias Marchesini (Asheville, N.C.) received the loss in game one and fellow junior right handed pitcher Gunnar Erickson (Chapin, S.C.) received the loss in game two. 

Junior right fielder Jacob Lebron (Lexington, S.C.) recorded 6 hits and 2 RBIs across the two games. Sophomore center fielder Donovan Ford (Greenville, S.C.) followed closely behind with 5 hits across the 18 innings. Ford also added 2 stolen bases to the 44 he entered Friday's doubleheader with, the fourth highest mark in the nation.

Game one: Tampa 12, Newberry 4
After a scoreless first inning, the Wolves pushed the first run of the game across in a less-than-ideal fashion as catcher Rhett Jolly (Edgefield, S.C.) hit into a bases-loaded double play that gave the Wolves their first lead of the series.

The Spartans responded with a sacrifice fly and a three-run home run on back-to-back at-bats in the top of the third to take a three-run lead. They doubled this lead by scoring a single run in three consecutive at-bats in the top of the fifth inning. They took their 7-1 lead all the way to the seventh inning when a solo shot made the score 8-1.

Four runs in the eighth inning brought the Spartans to their final total of 12 runs. The Wolves did not go down without a fight as they recorded 4 hits in the bottom of the ninth inning which allowed the scarlet and gray to scratch across 3 runs in the inning. But with the consistent scoring from the Spartans all game, the Wolves fell 12-4.

Game two: Tampa 16, Newberry 11
After the Spartans started the game out with 4 runs in the top of the first inning, sophomore catcher Jonathan Velez (Mayaguez, P.R.) cut the lead in half with a two-out single down the left field line. He stole second but was left stranded when the inning ended on a lineout.

With runners on the corners in the bottom of the second, the Wolves scored on a sacrifice bunt, but a base running blunder by both the runner on first and the batter allowed the Spartans to turn an unlikely double play.

The Spartans took their lead back to two runs with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning. Ford cut the lead back to one with an RBI single in the bottom of the same inning, and two-time South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year Braylin Marine (Freeport, N.Y.) added 2 RBIs of his own with a single through the left side, giving the Wolves a 6-5 lead heading into the fifth inning.

Both teams plated 2 runs in the fifth inning and the Wolves remained with a one-run lead. Despite the Spartans scoring to tie the game in the top of the sixth inning, back-to-back RBI hits from Marine and redshirt junior first baseman Henry Gibson (Walterboro, S.C.) made the Wolves lead 10-8.

But the seventh inning is where the Spartans claimed a lead they would not give up. After two RBI hits to tie the game, a Newberry error extended the inning and allowed a run to score. The top-ranked team in the NCAA's south region added one more run on a sacrifice fly and took a two-run lead of their own, 12-10.

The Wolves' final run came in the bottom of the eighth inning on an RBI single from sophomore left fielder Kade Faircloth (Oviedo, Fla.). Tampa added 4 runs in the top of the ninth and took the game 16-11.

Both the Wolves and Spartans will be competing in the 2023 NCAA tournament after receiving the automatic bid from winning their respective conferences. The teams learn their travel destinies on Sunday as part of the NCAA Selection Show.