AUGUSTA, Ga.  – The GRU Augusta Jaguar baseball team dropped an 11-3 non-conference game to the No. 1-nationally ranked Tampa Spartans on Friday afternoon at Lake Olmstead Stadium.

Ranked No. 1 according to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's most recent poll, the Spartans outhit the Jags 16-10 in the opening game of the series, but not before GRU took the first lead of the day.

The Jaguars (4-4) took a 1-0 advantage on the Spartans in the first inning off right-handed junior David Heintz. Clint Hardy reached on an error in the leadoff spot and took second on a Nick Rau single. Drew Taylor came up big in the next at bat and lined one into left field for the first score of the game and a 1-0 lead.

Tampa (9-1) got the leadoff man on in the first two innings, but Jaguar starter Tyler Brown stranded two runners in the first and struck out back-to-back batters looking in the second inning.

The Spartans came alive with two outs in the third, when they knocked five straight hits to take a 4-1 swing. Nick Flair started the rally with a double in the left-center gap, and after three straight singles, Joe Walsh belted another double to score one more for the big four-run inning.

Brown (1-2) gave up another run to the Spartans in the fourth. Brown went 4.0 innings in the loss and gave up nine hits for five earned runs, while striking out five.

The Jags brought in David Bermudez and Frank Warren in the fifth inning, but the Spartans answered for two more earned runs to build a 7-1 lead. Heintz stayed steady on the mound and struck out CJ Reed with the bases loaded in the fifth inning. Heintz (3-0) tossed 6.0 innings in the win and gave up six hits for one run. Heintz is 17-0 in his career.

After driving in the only other run for GRU at that point, GRU's Drew Taylor leadoff the eighth with a line-drive homerun over the left-field wall off reliever Michael Calkins. Blue Sanderson doubled down the left-field line in the next at bat and Cole Thompson drove him in with an RBI-single to right for an 11-3 game.

Tampa's Chris Frosch closed out the ninth to seal the 11-3 game for the Spartans. Flair went 4-6 with two RBI for Tampa, and Giovanny Alfonzo was 3-5 with an RBI. Andrew Amaro, Cody deNoyelles, and Nick Tindall all had two hits each for the Spartans.

Taylor and Rau each had two hits for GRU, while the bullpen brought out five arms in the loss.

The series continues tomorrow, Saturday Feb. 21 for a 6:00 p.m. single non-conference game with Tampa at Lake Olmstead. No live video or commentary for tomorrow's game, but live stats will be available.

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