TAMPA, Feb. 18, 2018 – Down 8-1 in the seventh inning, the USF baseball team showed great patience and scored seven runs to tie the game, eventually sending things into extras, where No. 6 North Carolina prevailed to take the rubber match of the three-game series, 9-8.

After the Tar Heels plated three in the top half of the seventh to make it 8-1, the Bulls got one back on a David Villar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) double off the fence in left to score Alec Wisely (Jacksonville). It was the start of a big inning for USF, as sophomore Carson Ragsdale (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) hit his first career home run to trim the deficit to 8-4 in the next at-bat.

The Bulls needed just one hit the rest of the inning to score the next four runs. USF showed excellent plate discipline and took some inside pitches, as it walked four times in the frame and used three hit-by-pitches to claw its way back and tie the score. 

Junior closer Andrew Perez (Orlando) was called upon in the eighth to maintain the tie, and he did just that, pitching two scoreless innings. In the top of the 10^th, Ike Freeman launched a solo home run to left center. The Bulls went down in order in the bottom half.  

Key Stats
8 – Sophomore righty Collin Sullivan (Randolph, Mass.) struck out a career-high eight batters in his second career start. He went 5.2 innings, allowing five runs (three earned).
 
3 – Carrying over from the final two innings of the second game in the series, Villar and junior Chris Chatfield (Riverview, Fla.) each have three hits in their last five plate appearances. Both went 2-for-4 on the day with a combined three runs and two RBI.  

9 – All nine Bulls that started in the field reached base safely. All nine starters either drove in a run or scored a run in the game.    

Notables
The Bulls recorded 10 hits for the first time this year. USF tallied 31 double-digit hit outings in 2017.

Up Next
The Bulls continue to compete against the ACC's elite with a Tuesday tilt at top-10 Florida State. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m. 

About USF Baseball
The University of South Florida baseball team is one of the fastest rising programs in the country. The Bulls reached the NCAA Regionals in 2015 for the first time in 13 years and followed that success with a 42-19 record and second NCAA regional trip in three years in 2017. The Bulls earned just their second and third wins over top-five ranked teams with victories against then-No. 3 Florida State and at then-No. 5 Florida during the 2017 season. During the 2017 season, USF reached the 40-win mark for the first time since 1996 and entered the top-25 in the major collegiate baseball polls for the first time since 2013. The USF Baseball program has won five conference titles and the Bulls have made 12 NCAA appearances.