Box Score MEMPHIS, TENN., APRIL 21, 2017 – The University of South Florida baseball team clubbed 10 hits and claimed it's third-straight 4-2 victory with Friday's win over Memphis to begin a three-game set.
The Bulls (31-7, 6-4 American) tallied runs in the first and second innings to give starter Phoenix Sanders (Gainesville, Fla.) a 2-0 lead. USF added to the advantage with a David Villar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) solo shot to left leading off the sixth.
The Tigers (21-18, 3-7 American) threatened in the bottom half of that inning, putting men on first and third with one out. Junior Joe Cavallaro (Venice, Fla.) was brought in, and before he got out of the jam, a wild pitch allowed a run to score.
Memphis got back another in the eighth with two outs. After putting men on first and third, a soft roller to Andrew Perez (Orlando) was fielded cleanly. But the throw to first took sophomore Joe Genord (Lake Worth, Fla.) slightly off the bag, allowing a run to cross home plate.
The Bulls answered with a needed insurance run in the ninth, as Luke Borders (Winter Haven, Fla.) singled through the right side to score sophomore Garrett Zech (Naples, Fla.). Perez was able to close the door in the ninth.
Key Stats
· Borders went 3-for-5 with two RBI, and he is now hitting over .400 over the last 10 games.
· Villar's homer in the sixth – that turned out to be the winning run – was his fifth of the year and team-leading 40th RBI.
· Sophomore catcher Tyler Dietrich (Naples) went 2-for-3 with a run and a walk, while Zech went 2-for-4 with a run and a RBI.
· Sanders tossed 5.1 innings, allowed six hits and struck out seven while not issuing a walk.
· Cavallaro struck out three in 2.1 and Perez fanned three of the four outs he recorded.
· Sanders picked up his sixth win of the season and Perez got his sixth save.
Notables
· The Bulls improve to 5-3 on the road and 24-20 all-time against the Tigers.
· USF is now 12-6 in games decided by two runs or less this season, have won five-straight games decided by two runs and have won three-straight games by a final of 4-2.
Up Next
The Bulls and Tigers play the middle game tomorrow at 3:00 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.
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