Bulls Historic Year Comes to End In Regionals
GAINESVILLE, Fla., JUNE, 4, 2017 – The University of South Florida baseball team was eliminated from the Gainesville Regional with Sunday's 6-3 loss to Bethune-Cookman, ending a tremendous year.
The Bulls (42-19) finish the season with the most wins since 1996 and accomplished a great deal. They led the country in strikeouts per nine innings for nearly three-straight months, raddled off the program's second longest winning streak with 19 and entered the top-25 in both the Baseball America and D1Baseball polls for the first time since 2013.
It didn't take long for the Bulls to take an early lead against the Wildcats (35-24) Sunday thanks to a first-inning solo shot to right from junior Kevin Merrell (Odessa, Fla.). But Bethune took a lead in the bottom half without anything leaving the infield.
A chopper through the left side, an error, a successful bunt and infield single tied the score. A bases-loaded walk and a ground-ball double play scored two more, making it 3-1 Wildcats.
But the Bulls tied the score with two away in the second. Sophomore Joe Genord (Lake Worth, Fla.) and Tyler Dietrich (Naples, Fla.) each singled, then Merrell drove them home with a hot shot passed the first baseman.
Bethune retook the lead with a two-run homer in the bottom of the third, then added one more in the fourth. The B-CU bullpen held USF in check until the top of the eighth, when the first two Bulls got on base. But Joseph Calamita was brought in and recorded three-straight outs.
Dietrich homered to left in the ninth with two away, but the next at bat resulted in a fly ball to right, ending USF's historic year.
Notables / Key Stats
- Merrell went 3-for-4 with a run and three RBI. His homer was his eighth of the season.
- Senior Luke Borders (Winter Haven, Fla.) went 2-for-4 and Dietrich went 2-for-3 with two runs and a RBI. His solo blast was the first of his career.
- The Bulls tallied 10 hits, the 31st game with double-digit base knocks this season.
- Freshman Carson Ragsdale (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) tossed 1.1 scoreless innings of one-hit ball and senior Michael Farley (Valrico, Fla.) pitched the final 2.2 innings allowing just one hit with four strikeouts.
- Merrell finishes the season with a .391 average, ranking inside the top-20 nationally. Borders finishes with a career-best .340 average and 53 RBI.
- The pitching staff added to the program record for strikeouts in a season and finishes the year with 620.
Post-game press conference with coach Kingston, seniors Luke Borders and Ryan Valdes.
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, and earned just it's second and third wins over top-five teams with a 4-2 victory against No. 3 Florida State on Feb. 21 and 15-10 win at then-No. 5 Florida on May 9. 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. USF reached the 40-win mark for the first time since 1996.
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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