Box Score CLEARWATER, Fla., MAY, 26, 2017 – The University of South Florida baseball team was eliminated from the American Athletic Conference Championship Friday with a 12-0 loss to UCF.
The fourth-seeded Bulls (41-17) and top-seeded Knights (40-19) were locked in a pitcher's duel through 5.0 innings. But UCF loaded the bases for a second time with one out in the sixth and a double scored a pair.
After making it 3-0, a two-run homer extended the lead to 5-0 which ultimately turned into a 7-0 edge after the frame.
UCF added two in the seventh and three in the ninth to advance to the semifinals on Saturday.
Notables
- Redshirt-Junior Peter Strzelecki (Lake Worth, Fla.) went 5.1 innings, allowing six hits and four runs, one being earned. He struck out five batters.
- After working out of a bases loaded jam in the first and sitting at 57 pitches through 1.2 innings, he went on to record the next 11 outs using just 34 pitches.
- Coco Montes (Miami) hit his 13th double of the season and Tyler Dietrich (Naples, Fla.) went 1-for-3.
Quotable
Kingston on Peter Strzelecki's outing:
“He was just fine. It was a 0-0 ballgame after five innings and it looked as if we would have another really good USF-UCF game, but things just got away from us.”
Kingston on his team moving forward:
“We're in reset mode now. We'll have two complete days off and be ready to get back after it starting Monday, because that's when the real season starts with regionals next week.”
Complete post-game interview with coach Kingston.
Up Next
USF awaits its NCAA fate with the regional selection show looming. The 16 regional hosts will be unveiled Sunday night beginning at 8:30 p.m. The regionals will be filled Monday afternoon starting at noon ET on ESPN2.
USF entered the game with an RPI of 21 and is in line to be a No. 2 seed.
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 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 –
