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BIG EAST - Big Ten Challenge
Game One (Saturday): Michigan 6, USF 5
Game Two (Sunday): USF 7, Purdue 5
Game Three: Indiana 9, USF 7 |
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TAMPA - The University of South Florida baseball team played the Netherlands National Team to a 4-4 draw Tuesday night in exhibition action at Red McEwen Field in Tampa.
"I am proud for the way our guys went about their business tonight," said USF head coach Lelo Prado. "They played hard and I think it is something great to build on."
USF came out scoring early, tallying three runs in the first inning and one in the fourth, but the Netherlands scored four in the seventh inning to tie the game. Both teams were held scoreless in the final two innings, ending the game knotted at four apiece.
"We had some great at bats today," added Prado. "Our guys battled. Some of the guys they threw at the end were throwing hard and were nasty. Those are things that we can build on."
Six Bulls pitchers took the mound in the exhibition game, one junior - Teddy Kaufman, four sophomores ? Doug Wagner, Junior Carlin, Kyle Eastham and Stephen Hunt - and one freshman - Matt Reed.
Along with seniors Mike Consolmagno and Trey Manz, sophomore Jonathan Koscso had a pair of hits in the game against the World Baseball Classic squad. Consolmagno also had a stolen base and scored a pair of runs. Sophomore Ryan Lockwood drew two walks and had a hit, RBI and a run scored.
"This game was cool. It was exciting and I had a lot of fun," said Lockwood. "We are a little upset that we aren't walking out of here with a win. It was a small mistake and a couple mental errors that lost us the game. We could be walking out of here up 4-0 instead of 4-4. It was a great outing for us. I think we had some good at bats, took some pitches and worked the counts. It was a great team day for us."
After sitting the Netherlands down in order in the top of the first, the Bulls collected three runs on three hits off of current free agent and former Yankee and Oriole Sidney Ponson.
"It doesn't matter who you play against, when you step in between these two white lines, you have to be able to play," said Ponson. "These guys are pretty good. They have good fundamentals. This program is going to be very good for this school."
Mike Consolmagno led off the bottom of the first inning with a single for the third-consecutive game. He moved to second when Jonathan Koscso was hit by a pitch. Consolmagno stole third, then scored on a passed ball. Lockwood drew a walk then sophomore Stephen Hunt singled through the left side to drive in the Bulls second run. After a pair of strikeouts, freshman Sam Mende drew a walk, and senior Trey Manz reached on an infield single, which scored Lockwood and gave USF the 3-0 lead.
In the second inning, Manz showed off his arm, gunning down Sharlon Schoop of the San Francisco Giants on an attempted steal.
The Bulls collected a pair of hits in the second, but were held scoreless in the half inning. Ponson left the game after two frames, giving up three runs on five hits and striking out three.
The Bulls starting pitcher, Wagner, was also relieved in the third after facing the minimum number of batters in his two innings of work. Kaufman came in for relief in the third, striking out two in his two innings on the hill, and Reed added a pair of relief innings, allowing just two hits.
USF scored their fourth and final run in the fourth inning after Consolmagno reached base for the third-consecutive at bat, this time on an error by the shortstop. Consolmagno advanced to second on a passed ball then moved to third on Koscso's second hit of the game. Lockwood singled to center field, scoring USF's final run.
After holding the Netherlands scoreless through six innings, the Dutch tied the game with four runs from three hits off of Carlin. Eastham relieved Carlin, allowing just one hit in the seventh and none in the eighth.
"Our guys played well against them, except for not covering first base there - that opened the flood gates. If we take that away, then we have a 4-0 ballgame and we win."
The Bulls threatened to score in the eighth when redshirt freshman Todd Brazeal sent a one-out double down the left field line, but the Netherlands forced freshman Andrew Longley to ground out and struck out freshman Jordy McGillis to end the inning.
Hunt closed the game for the Bulls, forcing the Netherlands into a pair of fly balls and a ground out.
"I told them today that that was the best batting practice we have had since I got here. This group is going to get it. They are going to be good. This group has a chance to be a very good ball club once we take care of defense," concluded Prado.
The Netherlands roster was dotted with eight players from the majors, including Ponson (free agent), Schoop (Giants), Yurendell de Caster (Tigers), Kenley Jansen (Dodgers), Dennis Neuman (Red Sox), Alexander Smit (Reds), Curt Smith (Cardinals), Tom Stuifbergen (Twins) and Juan Carlos Sulbaran (Reds).
The Bulls are back in action this weekend with four games in the Florida Gulf Coast Classic held in Ft. Myers, Fla. USF will play Boston College Thursday at noon, followed by Samford on Friday at noon and Florida Gulf Coast at 4 p.m. Saturday, all at FGCU. USF wraps up its weekend on Sunday at noon against Towson at Hammond Field.
The first two games of the Florida Gulf Coast Classic can be heard on tape delay on 1010-AM CBS Sports, and the Florida Gulf Coast game can be heard live also on 1010-AM.
