University of South Florida
Wagner
Pitching, Offense Dominate in 12-1 Rout of Wagner
February 21, 2015 | Baseball
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Like USF Baseball on Facebook TAMPA, Fla. (Feb. 20, 2015)— Superb pitching and a dominating offense set the stage for the USF baseball team to record a 12-1 win over the Wagner Seahawks Friday night at USF Baseball Stadium. “I thought we played good, fundamental baseball,” head coach Mark Kingston said. “Jimmy had a phenomenal performance and he had great defense behind him. It was a total, complete win.” The offense exploded in the fifth inning, tallying six runs on three hits. The inning started with Austin Lueck drawing a walk before advancing to third on a Nik Alfonso single. Clay Simmons walked to load the bases before Merrell and Kyle Teaf were issued back-to-back walks to drive in two runs. A two-RBI-single by both Daniel Portales and Luke Borders drove in the final two runs of the inning. The Bulls picked up six runs on five hits in the first four innings of play. Kevin Merrell singled in back-to-back innings, scoring first on a wild pitch and then on a Luke Maglich RBI single. Alfonso scored on a bases-loaded walk, while Portales drove in Simmons in the second inning. Teaf scored on a throwing error after stealing third and Portales scored on a Levi Borders double in the fourth. Wagner picked up one run in the eighth Nick Mascelli RBI double. Junior RHP Jimmy Herget (1-0) pitched 5.2 perfect innings before a single in the sixth inning by Wagner's Anthony Godino got past Maglich in right field. Herget pitched 7.2 innings, giving up just four hits and one run, while picking up 10 strikeouts. “He was dominant,” Kingston said. “He was throwing all his pitches for strikes. The difference between this week and last week was he got ahead of hitters and because of that he got some quick outs.” Senior RHP Jordan Stritmmatter came on to close out the game, tossing 1.1 innings of no hit ball and recording one strikeout. Merrell had another outstanding performance, going 2-for-4 with three runs and an RBI. Teaf picked up three walks, two runs and two RBI. Wagner used five pitchers against USF, with starter Matt Morris (0-1) taking the loss after giving up six earned runs in just 3.1 innings. Morris only issued 22 walks in 2014, but gave up seven to the Bulls. USF and Wagner return to action on Saturday in game two of the series. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m. with senior Casey Mulholland on the mound for the Bulls. For more information on the USF baseball team, follow @USFBaseball on Twitter.
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| Wagner | AB | H | R | RBI | BB | SO |
| Nick Mascelli | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
