CLEARWATER, Fla. (MAY 26, 2016) – The University of South Florida baseball team (24-32) was defeated 9-1 by UConn in the second round of the American Athletic Conference Tournament on Thursday night.
With the loss, the Bulls will encounter Memphis on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. in an elimination game at Bright House Field.
UConn (35-22) went ahead first on a wild pitch in the top of the second.
Down 1-0, the Bulls then tied the game in the bottom of the inning with a Joe Genord (Lake Worth, Fla.) solo home run to left-center field. The freshman catcher's sixth home run of the season cleared the bullpen area and evened up the contest at one.
USF starting pitcher Tommy Eveld (Tampa) held UConn to a single run over the first 4.0 innings. After the right-hander exited in the fifth, the Huskies plated three runs in that frame and three more in the sixth on their way to the victory.
UConn pitcher Tim Cate threw 7.1 innings of one-run baseball to receive the win.
Eveld (0-3) yielded three runs in the defeat.
Designated hitter Luke Borders (Winter Haven, Fla.) extended his on-base streak to eight with a seventh inning walk.
A ninth inning walk advanced Luke Maglich's on-base streak to eight.
Outfielder Garrett Zech (Naples, Fla.) also posted his eighth double of the season.
All day ticket passes are just $8 with $6 discounted tickets for children, military members, seniors and students. Tickets can be purchased at the Bright House Field box office or by calling 727-712-4300.
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 outfielder Garrett Zech (Naples, Fla.), who has the 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 -
