The defending champs had not lost all season. Then they faced an HBCU on a mission.
There’s beating a good team. Then there’s shutting out the No. 1 team in the country. The HBCU baseball program at Savannah State University didn’t just knock off Tampa on Tuesday afternoon — it silenced the reigning NCAA Division II baseball national champions, handed them their first loss of the season, and did it with a 7-0 statement at home on Tiger Field.
And if you know anything about Tampa baseball, you understand just how loud that statement really was.
The Giant on the Other Side
The University of Tampa isn’t just good. It’s the current gold standard in Division II baseball.
The Spartans entered Savannah ranked No. 1 in the country with an 11-0 record. They were fresh off back-to-back national championships, including a record-breaking 10th NCAA Division II title in 2025 — the most in DII history. Under head coach Joe Urso, who has stacked more than 1,000 career wins and seven National Coach of the Year honors, Tampa has built a dynasty.
In 2025 alone, the Spartans went 55-10. They rallied in a dramatic best-of-three championship series to claim their latest crown. They’ve produced more than 100 MLB Draft picks. They are a machine.
But for an afternoon, Savannah State turned that machine off.
The Third Inning That Changed Everything
The Tigers didn’t ease into the moment. They attacked it.
In the bottom of the third, Gavin Jusino sparked the rally with a leadoff single. After a strikeout, Jayden Clark ripped a single of his own, and Seth Stargell drew a walk to load the bases. Johan Sandoval stepped in and delivered — a two-run single to left that plated Jusino and Clark and gave SSU a 2-0 lead.
It wasn’t a fluke. It was pressure.
An inning later, Savannah State doubled down. Tyler Tucker and Jason Ramos reached, Jusino worked another walk, and Kijani Clarington punched a two-run single into left-center. Just like that, the Tigers were up 4-0 against the No. 1 team in the nation.
The Spartans, a program accustomed to dictating games in the NCAA Division II College World Series in June, suddenly found themselves reacting in Savannah in February.
No Let-Up
Savannah State didn’t blink.
The Tigers kept the bats alive in the eighth. Julian Grier singled. Ramos reached on an error. Jusino was hit by a pitch. Clarington forced home a run on a fielder’s choice. Then Clark delivered the dagger — a double that scored two and stretched the lead to 7-0.
Clark finished with three hits and two RBI. Clarington drove in three runs. Sandoval added two RBI of his own. Tucker collected two hits. Jusino scored twice.
Every time Tampa looked for momentum, Savannah State met it with another swing.
Six Arms, Zero Runs
If the offense built the lead, the pitching staff guarded it like a vault.
Savannah State University rolled out six pitchers and didn’t allow a single run. Salvatore Uro opened with three scoreless innings. Noah Brown, Joshua Krutchik, Giovante Tomlins, and Aidan Turner each added clean frames. Austin McCormack closed it out over the final two innings, striking out two.
Collectively, the Tigers struck out six, walked just two, and limited the nation’s top-ranked team to nine hits — none of which crossed the plate.
That’s how you beat the best.
A Rising HBCU Power
This wasn’t a random upset. It was the latest step in a climb.
Savannah State returned to NCAA Division II in 2019 and has steadily rebuilt into a contender in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). The Tigers finished 32-14 in 2025, went 24-9 in conference play, and reached the SIAC Tournament Championship game for the third straight year.
Head coach Florentino “Tino” Burgos, now in his second season, has pushed the HBCU program past the 30-win mark and into regional conversations. The Tigers were picked second in the SIAC preseason poll entering 2026, with seven players earning Preseason All-Conference recognition.
And history lives here, too. Savannah State University once set the NCAA Division II record with a 46-game winning streak in 2000. This program understands momentum.
Tuesday felt like a reminder of that DNA.
Eight Straight — and Counting
The win extended Savannah State’s current streak to eight games and improved the Tigers to 9-5 overall. More importantly, it sent a message beyond the SIAC.
HBCU baseball programs are building. They’re recruiting, developing arms, testing themselves against national powers — and now, they’re beating them.
Tampa will likely be back in the postseason mix. That’s what dynasties do.
But for one afternoon in Savannah, the reigning champs in Division II baseball ran into a program that refused to bow.
“In order to be the best, you have to beat the best.”
Savannah State just did.