GREENVILLE, N.C., APRIL 13, 2018 – The University of South Florida baseball dropped the opening game of the weekend series at No. 7 East Carolina, 15-2.

The Bulls (21-13, 5-5 The American) took a 1-0 lead in the second on a Garrett Zech (Naples, Fla.) solo homer to left. The Pirates (26-7, 5-2 The American) tied things up in the bottom half on a bases loaded walk.

In the next at-bat, a bases-clearing double was nearly brought back by Duke Stunkel Jr. (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), who leaped at the warning track in center. But the ball bounced out of his glove after he collided with the wall, and three runs scored.

After ECU added two runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to make it 8-1, doubles from JD Dutka (Suwanee, Ga.) and Tyler Dietrich (Naples, Fla.) got USF to within six, 8-2. But that was as close it would get, as the Pirates scored the final seven runs.

Key Stats

11 – USF had 11 hits on the night, the 18^th time it recorded double-digit hits.   
3 – Zech had a season-best three hits, going 3-for-4 with a run and a RBI.

Notables

• Juniors David Villar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and Joe Genord (Lake Worth, Fla.) each went 2-for-4 for a second-straight game.
• Dietrich finished 2-for-4.

Up Next
The Bulls and Pirates play game two of the series Saturday at 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.