Offense Uses Season-High 17 Hits to Take Columbia Series
TAMPA, FLA., MARCH 4, 2018 – The University of South Florida baseball team faced a 6-5 deficit in the fifth inning before scoring the final eight runs to win Sunday's matinee, 13-6, clinching the four-game series against Columbia.
The Bulls (7-5) plated five runs in innings 1-3, and led 5-2 in the top of the fifth. But the Lions (1-7) took a lead in the top half with four runs. From there, USF took control of the game, immediately tying things in the bottom half on a
JD Dutka (Suwanee) double, followed by a
Tyler Dietrich (Naples, Fla.) RBI single.
The Bulls regained the lead for good in the sixth on a
David Villar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) solo shot to left center. Villar and
Duke Stunkel Jr. (Palm Beach Gardens Fla.) each had RBI base knocks as part of a three-run seventh, and USF added three more in the eighth to take the 13-6 advantage. The Bulls' bullpen was stout the final 4.1 innings, allowing only two hits with five strikeouts.
Key Stats
3 – The top three of the USF order, consisting of Villar, Stunkel Jr. and
Alec Wisely (Jacksonville) went a combined 8-for-14 with four runs and six RBI.
5 – Five Bulls had multi-hit days.
.750 – Villar hit .750 (3-for-4) with a run, double, home run and three RBI. It was the third time this week he had at least three hits and was just a triple away from the cycle.
8 – USF smashed eight doubles from eight different players.
17 – The Bulls recorded 17 hits, the first time they have done that in a game since Feb. 19, 2016. It marked the seventh time they have reached double-digit hits this season.
24 – The Bulls are now 24-1-1 in nonconference home series since 2012.
Notables
- Joining Villar with three hits was Dietrich (a run and three RBI) and Stunkel Jr.
- Wisely went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI and junior Garrett Zech (Naples, Fla.) went 2-for-3 with a double, run scored and a RBI.
- Junior lefty Kevin King (Orlando) got his second win of the year, going 2.0 innings allowing one hit with two strikeouts.
Up Next
USF is on the road Wednesday for matchup at Jacksonville at 6 p.m. before returning home Friday, March 9 for a three-game series against Central Michigan.
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.
– #GoBulls –
