JACKSONVILLE, FLA., MARCH 21, 2018 – The USF baseball team scored the final seven runs of the game and the bullpen allowed just two hits over 5.0 innings to secure a ninth-straight win with Wednesday's 12-5 victory at North Florida.  

Junior David Villar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) started a two-out rally in the first with his league-leading 11^th double of the season. Chris Chatfield (Riverview, Fla.) singled through the right to bring him home and give the Bulls (16-6) an early lead. It was the beginning of a big rally, as USF plated three more to lead 4-0 after the opening frame.

After adding another in the second to make it 5-0, The Ospreys (10-13) tied things up in the bottom half. They led off with four-straight singles to get on the board, then an error and a couple wild pitches brought home the rest of the runs.

But the Bulls scored the next four runs, two again coming with two away in the third. After JD Dutka (Suwanee, Ga.) singled to lead off the inning, Tyler Dietrich (Naples, Fla.) reached on a throwing error with two gone. The two advanced on the error, setting up Coco Montes (Miami) for a two-RBI single. In the fifth, Dutka and Kyle Phillips (Orlando) each singled to lead off the frame. Dietrich then singled through the right side, scoring both and making it 9-5.

USF plated three more in the ninth, which was plenty, as the bullpen shut down the Ospreys over the final 5.0 innings.

Key Stats

3 – Montes had three hits a third-straight game. He finished 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI.
4 – Dutka finished with a career-high four hits and four runs. He's the first Bull with four runs scored since 2015.
5 – USF came into the game with 60 doubles on the year to sit second nationally and hit five against UNF.
9 – All nine USF batters recorded a hit.   
10 – The Bulls had 10+ hits for the 14^th time this season with 16.

Notables

• Duke Stunkel Jr. (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) and Villar each had two hits with a double apiece.
• Dietrich finished with three RBI.
• Carson Ragsdale (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) tossed 2.0 innings allowing just one hit with two strikeouts, and Connor Eason (Chesapeake, Va.), Dylan Burns (Vero Beach, Fla.) and Max Holmes (Jacksonville) each went 1.0 inning allowing a combined two base runners.
• USF has the longest winning streak in the conference.

Up Next
American Athletic Conference begins Friday with the first of three against UConn. Friday's game will be streamed on the American Digital Network at 7 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.