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TAMPA (May 14, 2015) – A five-run ninth inning wasn't enough to secure a comeback win as the USF baseball team fell 12-9 to UCF Thursday night. The Bulls are now 30-22-1 overall and 11-11 in conference play, while UCF is 31-23 and 10-12.

Trailing 12-4 in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Bulls rallied for five runs, all with two outs.

Pinch-hitter Hayden Kelley drew a four-pitch walk and Kevin Merrell was hit by a pitch to put two on with two outs. Luke Maglich doubled to score Kelley and Daniel Portales walked to load the bases. Buddy Putnam got an RBI the easy way with a bases-loaded walk and Luke Borders followed with an RBI single.

Andres Leal plated the final two runs of the inning on an RBI single, scoring Borders and Putnam.

USF fell behind early as the Knights plated four runs in the top half of the first, all with two outs. A two-run home run by Tommy Williams plated two before another two-run homer by Jordan Savinon plated another pair. Before USF could come to the plate and answer back in the inning, lightning was seen in the area, forcing a two-hour weather delay.

The Knights took a 5-0 lead on a solo home run to start the third inning, but USF answered right back to make it a three-run game. The Bulls loaded the bases with no outs, but a double play put two quick outs on the board. Kevin Merrell drove in two runs on an RBI single to right field to make it a 5-2 game.

UCF would answer with a six-spot in the top of the fourth, largely in part to a three run home run by Erik Barber. An RBI single and two-run double added the other three runs of the inning.

The Knights recorded their final run in the seventh on an RBI groundout by Derrick Salberg.

USF tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs, Putnam and Borders hit back-to-back singles to put two on for Leal. Leal walked to load the bases for the second time during the game. Gilcrease singled and drove in Putnam and an error by the Knights left fielder allowed Borders to score.

Merrell and Leal both recorded 2-for-4 nights, scored a run and drove in two runs apiece. Merrell extended his on-base streak to 21 games while Luke Maglich pushed his to 24 games.

Jimmy Herget took the loss for the Bulls, though he only threw one inning due to the rain delay. Joe Cavallaro and Tommy Eveld each pitched three innings in relief, while Mark Savarese threw two innings of shutout ball to end the game.

Game two of the series will begin at 2 p.m. Friday, May 15, as the game was moved up from the original 7 p.m. start time due to weather concerns.

For more information on the USF baseball team, follow @USFBaseball on Twitter.

- #GoBulls -