Sunshine State Conference

Aimee Murch looked to secure another conference victory for the Lynn University Fighting Knights, as was her foe, Katie Heintz, from the Saint Leo University Lions. Little did they know their April 2005 duel in Boca Raton would lead to national recognition and a record that still stands today. In a 12-inning ball game, they combined to strike out 45 batters.
  Murch and Heintz were seemingly on cruise control through the first six innings of the contest. Both allowed no runs or hits while racking up 13 strikeouts each. The Lions and Fighting Knights traded offensive blows in the seventh inning on a couple of solo home runs. When the dust settled, the game was tied 1-1.

Saint Leo mustered another hit in the top of the 8th inning, but Murch kept control, and the Lions stranded the runner. The bats went quiet again as Heintz and Murch battled. The duo struck out 15 more batters, allowing no hits and no runs through the subsequent innings.

In the top of the 12th inning, Saint Leo played a runner on second in accordance with tiebreaking procedures. The Lions pushed her over with a sacrifice bunt and earned a walk. Saint Leo had one down and runners on the corners when Murch fought back, striking out two batters to end the inning. In the bottom half of the 12th, Lynn sent first baseman Christina Rolla to the plate with a runner placed on second and one out. Rolla singled home the run for her second RBI of the day off Heintz, a seemingly impossible task, which sealed the Fighting Knights victory.
 

The performance of Murch and Heintz gained national attention with its inclusion in Sports Illustrated "Go Figures." It stands today as the most combined strikeouts in NCAA Division II single-game history. Heintz tied the Division II record with 23 strikeouts in the losing effort. Today, she is tied for fourth all-time. Murch's 22 strikeouts are tied for 12th all time.

Heintz continued to make her mark in the NCAA record book, this time in a 12-inning game against Florida Tech. Heintz and Amber West of FIT combined for 42 strikeouts on March 17th, 2006. The performance is tied for second-best in Division-II history.

Heintz was a two-time All-American during her career at Saint Leo, which spanned from 2003-06. She finished as the Sunshine State Conference's all-time leader in strikeouts with 1,209, which is also the sixth most all-time in NCAA Division II. Her 82 career wins are third-most in SSC history and second-most in Saint Leo history.

Murch holds 13 program records during her two years at Lynn. The accolades she accumulated in her time donning the Blue & White include NFCA First Team All-America, SSC Pitcher of the Year, SSC Female Athlete of the Year, two-time All-SSC and NFCA All-Region selections. Murch continued to pitch following her time at Lynn, playing three years in Milan, Italy and two more in the Netherlands, while also playing for the Australian National Softball Team.

Both athletes were selected to the Sunshine State Conference 25th Silver Anniversary team.

[Published: 1/14/16 / Edited: 3/17/20]
 

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A third of the way through their 2015 season, the University of Tampa Spartans baseball team took down a Goliath: Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies. The exhibition took place at Brighthouse Field in Clearwater, Florida, on March 1st. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon Spartan and Phillies fans will not soon forget.

The game marked the opening of the 2015 Spring Training and signaled the first game played by a Major League Baseball team that spring. Tampa entered the game with a No. 1 ranking and a record of 13-1. Although the win did not affect their NCAA record, the Spartans certainly made history. The victory stands as the first time an NCAA-sanctioned team defeated an MLB team the University of Miami Hurricanes defeated the Florida Marlins (now the Miami Marlins) in 2011.

That day, Tampa's pitching staff allowed just six Phillies hits, stranding ten runners on base and striking out six. The Spartans and Phillies both platooned pitchers. Tampa sent five junior pitchers to the mound, starting with David Heintz (4 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 SO), Dylan Barrow (2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 SO) who earned the win, Michael Calkins (0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 SO) in the 7th and 8th, and Zac Favre/Kevin Martin in the 9th (0 R, 0 H, 2 BB, 1 SO). In his first outing that year, Martin earned the save.

Both teams were quiet offensively through the first inning. The Phillies jumped on the board in the bottom of the second to take the lead. Philadelphia strung together a double and two singles before closing out the at-bat with a two-run lead.

Neither team scored during the next three innings, but Tampa came out swinging offensively in the top of the sixth. Senior Andrew Amaro led off the inning with a one-out single and stole second to give the Spartans a runner in scoring position. Senior Giovanny Alfonso then answered the call, sending a single to centerfield that scored Amaro and gave Tampa their first run of the contest.

The top of the seventh featured an exciting outing for the Spartans, as Tampa came out in full force to take a 6-2 lead. Junior Ty Cooler led off the inning with a pinch-hit one-out single to centerfield, stealing second and giving Tampa a runner in scoring position. One out later, junior pinch hitter Joe Walsh took first base on a walk. Senior pinch hitter Brett Joes then responded with a two-out infield single to load the bases. All runners advanced on the next walk to Andrew Amaro, which tied the game at 2-2. With the bases still loaded, senior Giovanny Alfonzo blasted a home run over the leftfield fence to propel the Spartans to a four-run lead. It was the defining moment of the game.

Collectively, Tampa recorded eight hits in the victory. Andrew Amaro, Giovanny Alfonso, Stephen Dezzi, Ty Cooler, Nick Tindall, and Brett Jones each registered hits against the MLB team, while Alfonso racked up five of the six RBIs.

The UT baseball program is no stranger to big games, having traveled to play some of the top teams in Cuba in January 2014. The Spartans also defeated The Netherlands national team, 7-6, in a game before the 2006 World Baseball Classic.

Tampa capped its 2015 season by winning a seventh NCAA baseball national championship. The Spartans earned a No. 3 seed for the south regional tournament after a Sunshine State Conference runner-up regular-season finish. UT reeled off eight straight wins to take the championship. In the regional tournament, they defeated Florida Tech (12-6), Nova Southeastern (8-1), West Alabama (13-9), and Florida Tech (5-4) again to advance to the final eight. There, they defeated No. 8 Cal Poly Pomona (7-4), No. 3 Mercyhurst (3-1), No. 15 Henderson State (5-2), and No. 2 Catawba (3-1) to win their second title in three years. (Bracket)

[Published: 1/14/16 / Edited: 3/17/20]

Four Sunshine State Conference student-athletes earned the prestigious Elite 89 Award from the NCAA in 2012-13. Four recipients ranked first of any Division II conference that year and most in a year for the SSC.

The Elite 89 (now called Elite 90) is an award founded by the NCAA that recognizes the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA championships.

Rollins senior cross country runner, Lauryn Falcone, was named the Sunshine State Conference's seventh overall NCAA's Elite 89 award winner and first of 2012-13. Falcone was one of nine participants in the race with a 4.0 GPA but won the award by having the most credit hours. The Somers, Conn., native is the first Rollins student-athlete to win the prestigious NCAA Elite 89 award.

The biology major posted a time of 22:36.0 over the 6K course. She was 164th at the halfway mark but worked to finished 124th, capping off the most decorated career in Tars cross country history.

Martin Wehlert, a senior men's soccer athlete at Lynn University, was the second SSC recipient of the Elite 89 award for 2012-13. Wehlert became the third Fighting Knight to hold the award in its short history.

Wehlert, majoring in business administration, carried a perfect 4.0-grade point average. The Halle, Germany, and the Fighting Knights went on to win the national championship, 3-2, over Saginaw Valley.

Florida Southern College's Robbie Swan won the 2012-13 award for men's swimming. The junior from Snellville, Georgia, recorded a perfect 4.00 GPA to secure FSC's third Elite 89 honor. Swan helped Florida Southern finish as the NCAA Division II national runner-up, the highest finish ever for any men's swimming team from the Sunshine State Conference.

At the national championships, Swan picked up a total of five All-American awards while participating in four relays and two individual events. As the anchor on the 200 medley relay team, Swan helped the Moccasins not only win the national championship in that event but set a new NCAA record as well.

Nova Southeastern University sophomore rower, Kelsey Obringer, earned a 3.94 GPA as a political science major, putting her above all athletes in the field of six rowing programs at 2013 nationals. The Port Republic, N.J. native is the only NSU to win the Elite 89,

On the water, Obringer was a strong part of the four boat throughout the season. She competed in three varsity-4 events during 2012-13 and raced against the top schools in the country in the open four at Dad Vails.

To date, the SSC has 16 Elite 89 winners. Student-athletes from six schools and 12 different sports have been honored. Barry University, Florida Southern College, and Lynn University all boast four winners.

The list of Elite 90 winners from the SSC can be seen, here.

*Four student-athletes were named Elite 90 in 2017-18

[Published: 1/14/16 / Edited: 3/17/20]

About the 40 Great Moments Campaign

The "40 Great Moments" campaign was created to bring attention to the athletic excellence, academic excellence, community engagement, and sportsmanship that has made up the Sunshine State Conference over the last 40 years. Moments were nominated by current and former student-athletes, coaches, administrators, alumni, and fans. The final 40 moments were decided upon by a vote of conference Sports Information Directors. The "40 Great Moments" campaign concluded during the Summer of 2016.

View all 40 of the SSC's Great Moments, here.