TAMPA, MARCH 25, 2018 – Senior outfielder Duke Stunkel Jr. (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) delivered the big hit with a walk-off single in the ninth to give the USF baseball team a 3-2 win and a 2-1 series win against UConn to open league play.

It was a pitching duel early, as the game was scoreless through 6.0 innings. The Bulls (18-7, 2-1 The American) threatened in the bottom half of the sixth, loading the bags, but were unable to drive in any runs.

The Huskies (11-9, 1-2 The American) also loaded the bases in the top of the seventh, but with no outs. A hard grounder to third was snagged by a diving David Villar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), who threw home to prevent a run from scoring. But the throw was just off the mark, forcing Tyler Dietrich (Naples, Fla.) to come off the plate. UConn hit into a double play with the bases loaded in the next at-bat, but a second run scored, making it 2-0.

In the eighth, the Huskies went to their closer, and Villar singled off him with one out, bringing up Joe Genord (Lake Worth, Fla.). The junior first baseman turned on the second pitch and powered it over the center field wall, tying the game.

Andrew Perez (Orlando) came in for the ninth and pitched a 1-2-3 inning. In the bottom half, Dietrich got the offense going with a one-out single. After a walk was issued to Coco Montes (Miami), Stunkel Jr. clinched the series with a single to right center, scoring Dietrich.  

Key Stats

3 – The Bulls have three walk-off hits this season and have walked off the last two Sundays.
5 – USF has won five-straight series and is 14-3 in the month of March.
5 – Genord's homer was his fifth of the season. He went 1-for-2 with two walks.
6.0 – Sophomore righty Collin Sullivan (Randolph, Mass.) gave up just three hits in 6.0 innings. He allowed one run and had five strikeouts.

Notables

• Dietrich finished with three hits and the game-winning run.
• Stunkel Jr. and JD Dutka (Suwanee, Ga.) each had doubles in the game.
• Connor Eason (Chesapeake, Va.) pitched the seventh and eighth and was perfect.
• Perez picked up his third win of the year.  

 
Quotables

Head coach Billy Mohl talking about the walk-off in the ninth:
"Dietrich did a good job of getting on, then Coco walked to put him into scoring position. Duke came up clutch. He's a senior who has been in those situations before and did what an experienced player is supposed to do."

Head coach Billy Mohl on the team coming back from deficits the last two games to win:
"It shows the resiliency of our team. We're never out of a game and preach that all the time with the offense that we have and all the leaders. Those guys do what they've been doing, continue to battle and we ended up on the right side today."

Up Next
The Bulls welcome Stetson for a Tuesday matchup at 6:30 p.m., before conference play resumes with a three-game series in Tampa against Tulane starting Thursday.

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.