TAMPA, Fla. – The Saint Leo baseball team lost 12-1 in its Sunshine State Conference (SSC) opener on Friday night at #1 Tampa in the first game of the series.

Both teams were scoreless after the third until the Spartans claimed a 5-0 edge in the fourth. Tampa scored two more runs in the fifth followed by two more runs in the sixth. In the eighth, junior Abrahan Rios knocked in a run with an RBI-single to left field, 9-1. However, Tampa collected a trio of runs in the bottom half of the eighth to maintain its lead.

On the mound, junior Flynn Howard started for the Lions and pitched 4.0 innings while recording five strikeouts and surrendering five runs (one earned) on four hits. In relief, senior Wyatt Flack, redshirt sophomore Ricky O'Dette, and sophomore Nick Wilson posted a strikeout each.

Saint Leo is back in action tomorrow, Saturday, February 21 as it concludes its series against top-ranked Tampa with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.