Box Score PDF | Season Statistics

Saturday, April 26, 2008   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  Final VU  1  1  0  0  1  0  0  1  0  4 USF  5  5  3  1  3  0  3  0  x  20   Friday, April 25, 2008   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  Final VU  0  0  1  0  0  0  3  0  1  5 USF  0  1  1  2  3  1  0  0  x  8

TAMPA, Fla. ? The University of South Florida baseball team scored 17 runs in the first five innings to beat Villanova 20-4 Saturday night at Red McEwen Field.

With the win, USF evens its BIG EAST record to 10-10, and improves its overall record to 24-19. Villanova drops to 20-22 overall and 5-12 in the league.

"We came out and did a great job, our guys stepped up and were ready to play tonight," said Lelo Prado, USF head coach.

The Bulls were powered by the hot bats of freshmen Stephen Hunt (4-for-4) and Ryan Lockwood (3-for-6), and added to a pair of home runs from junior Addison Maruszak (3-for-5).

"If Stephen Hunt stays focused on what he has to do, he is going to have a great career here and is going to be a high draft pick. He has all of the ability in the world, he can hit and he can pitch, but he has to stay focused."

Hunt, a true freshman, was a home run shy of the cycle, collecting a triple, two doubles and a single. Hunt ended the night with four runs scored and six RBI.

"Ryan Lockwood has had a great start and he has been steady all year for us," added Prado. "Thank goodness we have him on our side."

Lockwood added a triple and a pair of singles to USF's offensive attack, extending his hitting streak to 26 games. Lockwood, who is batting .395 this season, has 22 multiple-hit games and nine multiple-RBI games, both are a team best.

Maruszak provided two home runs, as well as a single to right field, collecting three RBI in the game.

The Bulls' offense steadily produced throughout the game, scoring in every inning but the sixth and eighth. USF collected 10 of it 20 runs in the first two innings, pulling ahead with a 10-2 lead. The Bulls added 10 more runs over the next five innings while allowing only two Wildcats to cross the plate in the final seven innings.

In the game, USF collected 21 hits, which are a season high, as well as the Bulls' 19 RBI, seven doubles and two triples.

Freshman Randy Fontanez earned his fourth win of the season, striking out three in 7.0 innings. He allowed two earned runs from seven hits, walking four of his 33 batters faced. Freshman Kevin Quackenbush came in for relief in the eighth, striking out one, but allowing one run from a pair of hits in his two innings of work.

Juniors Trey Manz and Mike Consolmagno each drilled a pair of doubles while freshman Jonathan Koscso tallied his fifth two-bagger of the year in the first inning of the game.

The Bulls and Wildcats will wrap up the three-game BIG EAST series on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Bulls will look to freshman right hander Derrick Stultz (3-3, 2.83 ERA) to face VU's senior right hander Bill Hoffman (3-1, 8.28 ERA). The game is a Season Ticket Holder Sunday, which means a season ticket holder can present their ticket stub to the concessions stand to receive a hotdog, drink and snack item for $5.