SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Saint Leo baseball team led the #8 Tampa Spartans 4-3 late in the game Friday night until a five-run seventh broke open the contest for the Spartans who eventually hung on for an 8-5 victory inside Thomas B. Southard Stadium. Senior Sam Crail led the Lions offensively going 3-for-4 at the plate with a double, two runs scored and an impressive three stolen bases.
 
The loss drops the Lions record to 7-12 on the year and 6-11 in Sunshine State Conference play. The nationally-ranked Spartans improved to 13-2 and 12-1 with their lone non-conference loss coming to the Lions during the opening weekend of 2021.
 
Redshirt juniors Paul Coumoulos and Cooper Trinkle joined Crail as the three Lions with more than one hit. Coumoulos was 2-for-3 at the dish with a run scored and a team-high two RBI. Trinkle was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Classmate Adrien Roa delivered the only other RBI as he went 1-for-4 with a run scored, a double and an RBI.   
 
On the mound, redshirt sophomore Jared Beck earned the start and went 4.2 innings of action with five strikeouts, three walks and three runs against. Junior Jestin Jones came in late in the fifth and pitched the Lions out of a jam inducing an inning ending groundout to first base to preserve a 4-3 Lions lead. Jones gave up one hit in the sixth but held the Spartans scoreless in the inning before suffering a tough luck seventh where the Spartans scored five unearned runs after an error extended the inning. Jones ended his night with 2.0 innings pitched a strikeout and two walks. He allowed four hits and saw five unearned runs cross the plate while being credited with the loss. Sophomore Andy Booth pitched the final 2.1 innings of action striking out two and not allowing a hit, walk or hit by pitch.
 
After a scoreless top of the first, the Lions struck first in the bottom half as Crail reached on a one-out single that was a high chopper to second base which he beat out. He then proceeded to steal second and third before Coumoulos brought him home on a two-out RBI single up the middle. After a quiet second and third, the Lions struck again in the fourth as Coumoulos reached on a one-out single through the right side of the infield. Roa then doubled to deep right center, hitting the ball off the top of the wall, to score Coumoulos. After a pop-up Trinkle delivered a double to deep right center as well which bounced off the wall and scored Roa.
 
Trailing 3-0 the Spartans offense came alive in the fifth as they plated three runs off of four hits to tie the game. The Lions quickly jumped back on top in the bottom of the inning as sophomore Yazael Nunez earned a one-out walk. He then was pushed to third by a single from Crail which went through the right side of the infield. The Lions followed that up with a double steal as Crail took second which allowed Nunez to sprint home beating the throw from the Spartan shortstop.
 
Both teams went scoreless in the sixth before an explosive seventh by the Spartans. Tampa used three hits, including two doubles, two walks and a Saint Leo error to score five runs and take an 8-4 lead before the Lions could stop the damage. The Lions mounted a rally in the bottom of the eighth as Crail led off the inning with a double and the next batter, Jake Vander Wal earned first after a Spartan fielding error to make it first and third with no outs. After a pitching change, Coumoulos sent a fly ball to centerfield that was just deep enough to score the speedy Crail from third on a sacrifice fly. Vander Wal then stole second but that would be the end of the rally as the Spartans earned a strikeout and a groundout to end the inning.
 
Both teams went scoreless in the ninth as the Spartans walked away with an 8-5 victory to open the three-game conference series with the Lions.
 
The Lions and Spartans will meet up again tomorrow but this time in Tampa as the Spartans host a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
 
For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo baseball team be sure to visit SaintLeoLions.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
 
Keeping Our Lions Healthy & Safe
Saint Leo University Athletics is keeping our student-athletes healthy and safe by following a number of measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This includes having student-athletes tested or screened on a regular basis, traveling in smaller groups, limiting the number of fans in attendance, avoiding overnight trips, and wearing masks when not competing. These safety standards meet those set by the NCAA Division II and the Sunshine State Conference President's Council. At Saint Leo University, the COVID-19 Incident Command Team also reviews the teams' safety protocol and monitors adherence on a regular basis.