Box Score | Overall Statistics
BOCA RATON, Fla. ? In yet another dramatic game for the University of South Florida baseball team (21-19), the Bulls scored eight runs in the top of the 10th to beat Florida Atlantic 19-11 Tuesday night at FAU Stadium.
USF held a 10-5 lead in the top of the eighth, but the Owls scored six runs in the bottom of the frame to take the 11-10 lead. In the ninth, freshman Stephen Hunt, who was the designated hitter and pitched to a pair of batters in the eighth, sent a leadoff home run over the right field fence to tie the game at 11. USF collected eight in the top of the 10th to pick up its 21st win of the season.
Senior Joey Angelberger sparked the Bulls early in the game, when he sent a grand slam over the left field fence in the third inning, his sixth home run of the season and his third grand slam of the year. The senior first baseman's last three home runs ? at West Virginia, against Louisville and at FAU ? have all been grand slams.
USF's 19 runs are the most scored this season and its 18 hits ties the team's season record in the category.
The 10-inning contest is the second-longest game of the year for USF, at four hours, 34 minutes. The longest game this season is still the 12-inning game against Indiana State on Feb. 23, which was four hours and 36 minutes.
It took freshman Ryan Lockwood six plate appearances to connect on a single and extend his hitting streak to 23 games. In the game, Lockwood drew a pair of walks, scored three runs and had a stolen base.
Freshman Kyle Eastham, who came in to relieve freshman starter Matt Stull with one out in the bottom of the first, faced 14 batters in 3.2 innings before taking a ball to the back of the neck off of the bat of an Owl. After being attended to on the mound by the athletic trainers, Eastham walked off of the field under his own power.
Six USF pitchers took the mound for the Bulls, combining for 202 total pitches thrown.
In his fourth start at third base, sophomore Victor Pina was 4-of-6, collecting four singles, driving in four runs and scoring twice.
Hunt, who tagged his fourth and fifth double, second home run and 16th and 17th RBI of his rookie campaign, also drew his sixth walk and scored three runs.
After FAU took the early 3-0 lead, both teams scored a run in the second, then USF collected five in the third inning to take the 6-4 advantage. FAU inched to within one in the fifth, but the Bulls added one in the sixth and three in the seventh to take the five-run lead. FAU tallied six in the eighth but the Bulls picked up one in the ninth to tie the game at 11. USF collected eight in the 10th to take the eight-run win.
In the second inning, Hobbs took a pitch to the hip then Hunt doubled to right, setting up junior Chris Rey to send a sac fly to right field, scoring USF's first run. An inning later, freshman Jonathan Koscso was hit by a pitch then Pina and junior Addison Maruszak each connected on singles to load the bases. Angelberger then stepped to the plate, sending his third grand slam over the left field fence. Lockwood followed the slam by drawing a walk, then was moved to third on a sac bunt from junior Brian Hobbs and a drawn walk by Hunt. Junior Chris Rey tallied his second RBI of the game, plating Lcokwood.
With two outs in the sixth, USF collected three consecutive base hits from junior Cory Johnson, Koscso and Pina. The same three batters each collected another hit in the seventh, as Johnson tallied his 10th RBI of the year and Pina picked up an RBI in back-to-back innings.
Hunt's solo shot tied the game in the ninth, then the Bulls exploded for eight runs from four hits in the 10th to earn the win. With one out, Lockwood singled up the middle and Hobbs drew a walk in time for Hunt to double to left field and pick up an RBI. Junior Chris Rey was intentionally walked, then junior Trey Manz and freshman Jonathan Koscso each drew bases-loaded walks. Pina sent a double up the middle to collect two more RBI, then Maruszak was hit by a pitch and Angelberger singled to left field to wrap up the inning.
Freshman Matt Stull made his fifth start of the season, but was relieved in the first inning by Eastham after allowing three hits, plunking two batters and forcing an Owl to fly out to centerfield. Sophomore Shawn Sanford earned his fifth win of the year, striking out four while allowing three hits and one run in 2.1 innings.
On Deck
The game against FAU concludes USF's five-game stretch on the road, and the Stetson game begins USF's second-longest homestand of the season. The seven games at home include Stetson (4/23), Villanova (4/25-27), UCF (4/29 & 5/6) and Bethune-Cookman (4/30).
Website Wednesday
The University of South Florida's next Website Wednesday will be April 23 as the Bulls face off against Stetson University at 7 p.m. at Red McEwen Field. Tear out the coupon on the baseball page of www.GoUSFBulls.com and take it to the concessions stand any time during the USF vs. SU game.
