TAMPA, FEB. 24, 2017 – The University of South Florida baseball team plated four runs early on which was more than enough to aid a dominant pitching performance from senior Phoenix Sanders (Gainesville, Fla.) in Friday's series-opening 5-1 win over Miami (Ohio).   

The Bulls (4-1) struck early, as junior Kevin Merrell (Odessa, Fla.) clubbed a triple to center field in the first home at bat that landed on the dirt. He was immediately brought home by sophomore Coco Montes (Miami) with a single through the right side.

After adding to the lead in the second inning, the Bulls doubled-up the Redhawks (0-4) in the third inning. With Merrell on second and senior Luke Borders (Winter Haven, Fla.) on second with two away, a potential inning-ending fly ball to deep right was dropped by a retreating Landon Stephens at the track, this allowing the two runners to score easily.

The Redhawks had their best chance to do damage in the top half of that third frame, as they had two runners in scoring position with no outs and the bases juiced with one gone. But Sanders struck out two and induced an inning-ending flyout to get out of his worst jam.

He settled in from there and retired the final eight batters he faced, as the Bulls tacked on another run before the visitors put a dent in the scoreboard.

Quotables

Head coach Mark Kingston on his team's performance and Sanders's outing

“Phoenix's biggest thing tonight was that he was holding his velocity late in the game which is a great sign. He wasn't doing that as much last year and wasn't quite as strong, so an outing like this for him his huge.”

Phoenix Sanders on the win and his strong outing  

“I think the win Tuesday at Florida State was huge for our momentum and getting the win tonight keeps it going which is big for us. I was happy with my fastball command and my curveball was my putout pitch towards the end of the night so it was nice that I had success with both. The early run support was huge and my outfield with their speed covering the range from right to left is awesome to have backing me up.”

Key Stats

• Merrell finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI.
• Borders finished 2-for-4 with a run scored.
• Sophomore third baseman David Villar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) went 2-for-4 as well.
• Junior Joe Cavallaro (Venice, Fla.) tossed 2.0 innings in relief and recorded five strikeouts while allowing just two hits.

Notables

• The Bulls are now 2-0 all-time against the Redhawks.
• Merrell has two of his four career triples through the first five games of this season.
• The Bulls surrendered less than three runs for the fourth time this season and have not allowed more than four thus far.
• The 15 combined strikeouts are the second-most for the Bulls this year, as they recorded 16 against Iowa on Feb. 18. The team now has 63 strikeouts this season.

Up Next

USF and Miami (Ohio) will play a minimum of 18 innings on Saturday with a double-header. First pitch in game one is set for 2:00 p.m. Fans can purchase season tickets, flex plans and single-game tickets at USFBullsTix.com or by calling 1-800-Go-Bulls.

About USF Baseball

The University of South Florida baseball team is one of the fastest rising programs in the country. Under the guidance of head coach Mark Kingston, the Bulls reached the NCAA Regionals in 2015 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 were everyday starters in 2016 including outfielder Chris Chatfield (Riverview, Fla.), who led the team in home runs, and catcher Joe Genord (Lake Worth, Fla.), who was named the 2016 PGCBL Player of the Year. The Bulls won series from two ranked teams in 2016 (No. 21 East Carolina, No. 25 Michigan State, began the 2017 season with a series win over Iowa and earned just it's second win over a top-five team with Tuesday's 4-2 victory against No. 3 Florida State.

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 .   For tickets, contact the USF Ticket Office at 1-800-Go-Bulls or by going online to USFBullsTix.com.

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