THE UNIVERSITY OF TAMPA won all four of its games by at least five runs to advance through the winner’s bracket of the the NCAA Division II Baseball Championships and repeat as the champion. They represented the Sunshine State Conference. This the fifth baseball title for the Spartans, as they have the only other repeat in Division II history (1992-93) and also claimed the title in 1998. Current Head Coach Joe Urso was second-baseman on the 1992 Championship team. This year’s squad defeated Cal. State – LA, Nebraska-Omaha and Southern Indiana before facing off with Columbus State in the finals.

The All-Tournament team included Chris Rosenbaum (C), Tampa; Billy Howard (1B), Columbus State; Darin Mastroianni (2B), Southern Indiana; Brian Frew (3B), Nebraska-Omaha; Roberto Mena (SS), Tampa; Fernando Franco (OF), Cal State Los Angeles; Derw Candlin (OF), Columbus State; Junior Mejia (OF), Tampa; Rodney Rutherford (DH), Columbus State; Cory Julian (P), Southern Indiana. Jonathan Holt (P), from Tampa, was named Most Outstanding Player. This was the 40th year of DII Championship Baseball and the 23rd consecutive year to be hosted in Montgomery, Alabama.