JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (MARCH 16, 2016) – The University of South Florida baseball team (10-8) received a career-high two home runs from outfielder Chris Chatfield (Riverview, Fla.) but North Florida (11-8) rallied back from an early deficit to hand the Bulls a 7-6 defeat on Wednesday night.
USF pounced on Ospreys pitcher Frank German in the opening frame. First baseman Duke Stunkel Jr. (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) plated infielder David Villar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) with an RBI single. Following another base-hit, Chatfield crushed a three-run home run to right field. His first of two home runs on the night gave USF the early 4-0 advantage.
UNF also utilized home runs to cut the deficit in half. The Ospreys hit solo home runs in the first and third innings to make the score 4-2.
After yielding a run in the first, Bulls pitcher Michael Clarkson (Oldsmar, Fla.) settled down to retire 13 of the next 15 hitters he faced.
The Ospreys then threatened again in the sixth. Clarkson surrendered back-to-back hits before allowing a run on a wild pitch. Clinging to a 4-3 lead, the redshirt-senior struck out Christian Diaz and received back-to-back defensive stops from Villar to prevent the tying run from scoring.
The Bulls increased the deficit with Chatfield's eighth inning home run. USF also tallied another run off a UNF error in the ninth for a 6-3 edge.
Following two scoreless innings from reliever Garrett Bye (Riverview, Fla.), the Bulls turned to pitcher Mark Savarese (Palm City, Fla.) for the bottom of the ninth. Trailing by three, UNF scored four runs in the inning, including a game-winning RBI single from Diaz, for the 7-6 comeback win.
The Bulls season high, four-game winning streak comes to an end with the defeat.
Clarkson, who was pitching on his 23rd birthday, received the no-decision. He delivered a quality start of 6.0 innings and three runs allowed. His four strikeouts fell one shy of tying his career high.
Chatfield finished the game 2-for-3 with two home runs, two runs scored and four RBIs. He becomes the first Bull to hit two home runs in a game since teammate Levi Borders (Winter Haven, Fla.) accomplished the feat against Houston on April 25, 2015.
Villar also posted two hits and a run scored.
This weekend, USF will welcome Michigan State, ranked No. 25 by Baseball America, for a three-game series. The Friday and Saturday contests will be held at 6:30 p.m. The Sunday game begins at 12:00 p.m. Reserve your seats at USFBullsTix.com.
The University of South Florida baseball team is one of the fastest rising programs in the country. Under the guidance of first year head coach Mark Kingston, the Bulls reached the NCAA Regionals last season for the first time in 13 years and USF followed that success with a consensus Top 10 recruiting class. The team returns outfielder Kevin Merrell, who was named an NCBWA Freshmen All-American last season after leading the Bulls in batting average (.346), runs (45), hits (83) and stolen bases (21). Senior catcher Levi Borders and senior outfielder Luke Maglich were both selected to the 2016 Preseason All-Conference Team in the AAC. The USF Baseball program has won five conference titles and the Bulls have made 11 NCAA appearances. Follow the baseball team on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information.
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