Date: Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Tampa | USF Baseball Stadium
Radio: 1040 AM
Video: N/A
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TAMPA, MARCH 28, 2016 – The University of South Florida baseball team (14-11) completes its four-game homestand when the Bulls welcome Stetson on Tuesday night.
USF recently won two of three games from Dartmouth over the past weekend. The pitching staff held the Big Green to just one run over the series and posted a 0.33 ERA. The series win for the Bulls was their sixth in a row to start the season, the most in program history.
Starting pitcher Phoenix Sanders (Gainesville, Fla.) was selected as the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week on Monday. He began the series against Dartmouth with a complete game shutout on March 25. The junior yielded just one walk and five hits, while also striking out seven. He needed just 92 pitches for the Bulls' first complete game shutout of the season. Sanders utilized three double plays during his career-long performance. The right-hander also got stronger as the night went along, setting down three batters on three pitches in the eighth inning and retiring the last seven hitters he faced. It was his fourth quality start in six opportunities this season.
Stetson (12-13) enters this midweek contest on the heels of a four-game losing streak, including three in a row at Coastal Carolina last weekend. Kirk Sidwell is batting a team high .325. Six players have combined for the nine Hatters home runs this season. Stetson is batting .249 as a team with a cumulative 3.83 ERA. The Hatters are guided by 37th year head coach Pete Dunn.
SERIES INFORMATION
Stetson holds the 83-82 lead in the all-time series with USF. The Bulls won the prior meeting this season, 3-2, at Stetson on March 15. USF received 6.0 innings of one-run baseball from pitcher Brad Labozzetta (Lakeland, Fla.) and a career-high three hits from outfielder Cameron Montgomery (Windermere, Fla.) in the victory.
TEAM TIDBITS
· The Bulls pitching staff is third in the nation with 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings. The Bulls also rank 26th in stolen bases with 39.
· Outfielder Garrett Zech (Naples, Fla.) is fourth in the country with nine sacrifice bunts. Pitcher Brandon Lawson (Brooksville, Fla.) is also fourth in the county in strikeouts (55) and 10th in strikeouts per nine innings (12.69). Outfielder Luke Maglich (Sarasota, Fla.) is seventh in stolen bases with 17.
· Sanders is the sixth Bull to be honored by The American this season. Infielder Kevin Merrell (Odessa, Fla.) was selected to the weekly honor roll on Feb. 22, outfielder Luke Maglich (Sarasota, Fla.) was named to the weekly honor roll on March 7 and pitcher Tommy Eveld (Tampa) was recognized on the weekly honor roll on March 14. Infielder Coco Montes (Miami) earned player of the week recognition on March 21 as pitcher Brandon Lawson (Brooksville, Fla.) appeared on the weekly honor roll.
· By winning two of three games with Dartmouth, the Bulls have now won all six weekend series they have played this season, a new program record. USF has won series with Liberty, Eastern Michigan, Saint Joseph's, Holy Cross (a sweep), No. 25 Michigan State, and now Dartmouth.
· Pitcher Phoenix Sanders threw a complete game, five-hit shutout in the series opening victory against Dartmouth (March 25). He is the first Bulls pitcher since Jimmy Herget accomplished the feat in a 1-0 win versus Pittsburgh on April 5, 2013.
· All three games of the series with Dartmouth featured a shutout.
· The Bulls pitching staff allowed just one run to the Big Green in a span of 27.0 innings pitched. The USF starters threw 23.0 combined innings in the set, yielding just one run on nine hits.
· Pitcher Joe Cavallaro (Venice, Fla.) took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning against Dartmouth (March 27). It was his second start in the last three opportunities where he has taken a no-hitter into the sixth inning.
· Cavallaro and pitcher Tommy Eveld (Tampa) combined to one-hit Dartmouth on March 27. The Bulls' combined one-hitter is the first of its kind since Derrick Stultz (7.0) and Austin Adams (2.0) accomplished the feat in a 4-0 victory over Eastern Illinois on March 9, 2012.
· Catcher Levi Borders and outfielder Luke Maglich were both named to the 2016 All-American Athletic Conference Preseason Team.
· Outfielder Garrett Zech was named the preseason AAC Freshman of the Year, according to the staff at D1Baseball.com.
· The Bulls boast a consensus top-10 national recruiting class from 2015, including outfielder Chris Chatfield, infielder Coco Montes (Miami, Fla.) catcher/infielder Joe Genord and Zech who were all named as top impact freshman in The American this season, according to D1Baseball.com.
· The USF baseball team features 34 players this season, all of which are from the state of Florida. This is the first Bulls team since 2003 to be entirely composed of Florida residents.
· The Bulls are proud to call the Bay Area their home and the majority of the baseball team hails from the surrounding area (within 30 minutes of the USF campus or Tampa Bay). Eight Bulls are from Hillsborough County (Garrett Bye, Chris Chatfield, Tommy Eveld, Andres Leal, Hayden Kelley, Daniel Portales, Dominiq Sicardo, Ryan Valdes), three are from Polk County (Levi Borders, Luke Borders, Brad Labozzetta), two reside in Pinellas County (Michael Clarkson, Donovan Pink) and Sarasota County (Joe Cavallaro, Luke Maglich), and one is from Pasco County (Kevin Merrell).
· The Bulls have six players that call Tampa home (Tommy Eveld, Andres Leal, Hayden Kelley, Daniel Portales, Dominiq Sicardo, Ryan Valdes).
· For the second consecutive season, the USF baseball team will be shaving their heads in partnership with the Vs. Cancer Foundation. In 2014, the Bulls befriended a young cancer patient by the name of Nick Wolf. The team met Nick through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, a non-for-profit group that aims to improve the quality of life for kids and their families battling pediatric brain tumors. The Bulls became such good friends with Nick that they named him an honorary team captain. Despite courageously beating cancer twice, Nick eventually succumbed to the disease in 2015. That season, the baseball team exceeded its goal and raised $16,320 for the Vs. Cancer Foundation and Tampa General Children's Hospital. The coaches and staff also banded together and shaved their heads after a home game in 2015. The Bulls will be raising money again this season and will be shaving their heads once again after the Sunday, April 10 contest against Memphis.
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. Five players from that recruiting class are everyday starters in 2016 including outfielder Chris Chatfield (Riverview, Fla.), who leads the team in home runs and RBIs, infielder David Villar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), who has the highest batting average on the team, and outfielder Garrett Zech (Naples, Fla.), who has the third most sacrifice bunts in the country. 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), visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information, and purchase tickets for upcoming games at USFBullsTix.com .
- #GoBulls -
