DELAND, FLA., APRIL 11, 2018 – The University of South Florida baseball tallied seven hits to Stetson's five, but fell 5-2 on the road Wednesday afternoon.

The Bulls (21-12, 5-4 The American) and Hatters (25-8, 1-2 ASUN) each scored a run in the first inning. Stetson took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third, then junior Garrett
Zech (Naples, Fla.) led off the fifth with an infield double on a popup that was lost in the sun. Zech stole third and scored on a passed ball to tie things at 2-2.

Both sides used multiple bullpen arms, as USF went through six and Stetson went through four. Chris Chatfield (Riverview, Fla.) singled and stole second in the sixth, but was stranded. In the eighth, David Villar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) hit a two-out double but was left on.

The Hatters regained the lead in the bottom half on consecutive RBI doubles, then scored on an error to make it 5-2. USF went down in order in the ninth.

Key Stats

16 – Villar finished 2-for-4 with a run and two doubles, and he now has 16 on the season. He began the week seventh nationally in doubles.  
0 – Junior Alec Wisely (Jacksonville), sophomore Noah Yager (Davie, Fla.) and junior Richie Cruz (Miami) pitched innings 5-6-7, respectively, and combined to allow no hits with six strikeouts.
14 – The seven USF arms combined for 14 strikeouts.

Notables

• Chatfield went 2-for-4.
• Wisely struck out the side in the fourth and Cruz struck out two in the seventh.

Up Next
The Bulls return to league play for their second-straight road series. The first of three at No. 7 ECU begins Friday at 6:30 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.