NEW ORLEANS, APRIL 2, 2017 – The University of South Florida baseball team jumped out to a 5-0 lead and fended off a Tulane rally to win its first American Athletic Conference game of the season in this weekend's series finale, 7-5.

After receiving blows and enduring big innings from the Green Wave (12-16, 2-1 AAC) in the first two games, the Bulls (24-5, 1-2 AAC) returned the favor in the third frame. They put up five runs on four hits. Sophomore Garrett Zech (Naples, Fla.) got on due to a fielding error by the third baseman. Junior Kevin Merrell (Odessa, Fla.) bunted Zech to second, but no one was covering third allowing Zech to take an extra base. Before the ball got to the mound, Zech wisely took off for home with a convergence between the pitcher and catcher and scored.

The Bulls were able to load the bags with one out, then sophomore David Villar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) drove a pitch into the gap in left center, clearing the bases and making it 4-0. Redshirt-junior Andres Leal (Tampa) brought home Villar in the next at bat with a double to right, making it 5-0.

Starter Peter Strzelecki (Lake Worth, Fla.) was cruising until the fourth, as he retired nine men in a row. But the Green Wave got back into it with four runs in the frame, all with two outs. USF responded in the top half of the fifth thanks to a Joe Genord (Lake Worth, Fla.) two-run blast to left field, making it 7-4. Tulane tallied one more in the fifth, but got no closer.   

Key Stats

·         Genord's blast was his sixth of the season and his second-straight two-run homerun.

·         Senior Luke Borders (Winter Haven, Fla.) went 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs.

·         Sophomore Coco Montes (Miami) went 2-for-4 as well with a run scored.

·         Sophomore closer Andrew Perez (Orlando) logged the final 2.0 innings, didn't allow a baserunner and struck out three en route to his fourth save.

Notables

·         The Bulls mashed double-digit hits for the 18th time this year.

·         USF matched its win total from last season with the victory.

Up Next

The Bulls return home for the first of six meetings with UCF this season. First pitch in the three-game series is Friday at 6:30 p.m.

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 a 4-2 victory against No. 3 Florida State on Feb. 21. The win over FSU was part of the best start in program history thanks to a 19-game winning streak, the second-longest in USF Baseball records.

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.

                                                                        – #GoBulls –