TAMPA, Fla. – In winning a 10th national title, the University of Tampa Spartans had to survive an endurance test. Joe Urso’s club played eight semifinal and championship series games during its one-week stay at the USA Baseball Training Complex in Cary, N.C. Six of the games were out of the loser’s bracket and the last four were shoehorned into little more than a day, including three championship series games.
“It took a lot of leadership to get through the loser’s bracket,” said Urso, who has guided the Spartans to seven titles in 24 years at the helm. “It was a resilient group that was going to leave it all on the field.”
The field turned into a UT celebration following an 11-5 win over the University of Central Missouri on Sunday, in a winner-take-all Game 3 of the championship series against the Mules.
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“A lot of guys that won’t put a uniform on again, and they knew that,” Urso said of a senior-heavy team’s determination. “They were going to do everything they could for their teammates. As much team depth as we had, nobody is prepared to go through eight games in a week, and definitely not four games in 30 hours with the pitching. It took guys going above and beyond.”
Urso rattled off a few names, including pitchers C.J. Williams and Jacob Fletcher, both of whom appeared in three straight games during the 30-hour marathon Urso referenced. The former was on the mound to record the final out to trigger yet another UT dogpile. How fitting it was that the last out, a popup, ended up in the glove of third baseman J.D. Urso, Joe’s son, who emerged from the dogpile looking for his father.
“The one thing we had not accomplished together was a national championship,” said the elder Urso. “What are the chances he gets the last out? It’s a memory I will never forget, jumping into his arms. What a moment.”
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What a moment it was for outfielder Jordan Williams, who celebrated a national title in his fourth and final attempt at three different levels. The son of former Dodgers outfielder, Reggie, went to a pair of JUCO World Series while at San Jacinto (Texas) College, and made it to Omaha last year in his second of two seasons with Florida State, going 0-for-3 at winning the big prize.
The Odessa native and Gaither product transferred to UT, and the fourth time proved to be the charm.
“It really hit me that we won a national championship, and that I was not dreaming,” Williams said of what he felt during a party at Urso’s home Monday. “When I think about my career, I have been very fortunate to be with winning programs. I have been very fortunate to be recruited by winning programs and be able to contribute. It was an amazing career, a career I am grateful for.”
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