SAINT LEO, Fla. – Saint Leo baseball had visiting Tampa on the ropes, before a five-run uprising in the top of the seventh led the top-ranked Spartans to a 9-6 win over the Lions, in Friday night's first game of a three-game Sunshine State Conference series at Thomas B. Southard Stadium.

The series concludes on Saturday, March 12, at 3:00 p.m. with a doubleheader at Southard Stadium. Both games of the twinbill will be webcast on www.SaintLeoLions.com.

Saint Leo (12-8, 0-1 SSC) broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the sixth, when it busted the game open with four runs. A leadoff double by Chase Turner followed by a Bryan Nunez single set the table for Lane Stancil's two-run base hit up the middle to put the Lions in front, 4-2. The Green and Gold extended that lead to 6-2 before the inning was complete, when junior Mike Mann crushed his first collegiate home run over the fence in left-center to score Stancil for a 6-2 lead.

Tampa responded with five runs in the top of the seventh to overtake Saint Leo, 7-6. Danny Lee's two-run single up the middle pulled the Spartans to within two of the Lions, and Tampa tied things up two batters late on Laz Rivera's sacrifice fly to center field.

The Spartans took the lead on the next at ball when pinch hitter Zion Bell singled through the right side, scoring Kevin Santa and giving Tampa a 7-6 lead.

Tampa added single runs in each of the two remaining innings, with Lee singling home Cody deNoyelles in the eighth, and Adrian Chacon plating Rivera on a sacrifice bunt in the ninth.

The Lions were held to just two base runners over the final three innings, with neither able to advance past second base.

Saint Leo tallied 14 hits off Tampa pitching, matching the top-ranked Spartans' hit total for the night. Alex Mata went 3-for-5 at the plate with two runs batted in, while Turner finished with a 3-for-4 mark at the plate. Troy Sieber extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a 2-for-4 ledger with one walk. Stancil and Zach Daley each finished with two hits, with Stancil also crossing for a pair of runs. Stancil and Mann each had two RBI.

Starter Andrew Cohen took the loss, after allowing seven Tampa runs through his six-and-a-third innings on the mound. Cohen fanned four Spartans, but walked four and allowed 10 hits.

After a brief stint by reliever Zach Whitaker, Jordan Pendleton came on to finish the seventh and get through the eighth and ninth innings; he scattered three hits and struck out three Tampa batters.

For Tampa, both Rivera and Lee finished the night with three hits, with Lee getting credit for three RBI on the night. Mark Moclair, who faced one batter in the bottom of the sixth to get the Spartans out of the frame and was lifted at the start of the seventh, picked up the win.

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