GREENVILLE, N.C., APRIL 14, 2018 – Redshirt senior Peter Strzelecki (Lake Worth, Fla.) threw a complete game and the offense flexed its muscles, as the University of South Florida baseball team evened the weekend series at No. 7 East Carolina with Saturday's 13-1 win.  

The Bulls (22-13, 6-5 The American) jumped out to an early lead for the second-straight game, scoring three runs in top of the first. It turned out to be plenty for Strzelecki, who was masterful and only allowed one run to the Pirates (26-8, 5-3 The American) on a solo homer.

The USF offense took a while to impose its will, as the visitors were clinging to a 3-1 edge in the seventh. After a David Villar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) walk, Joe Genord (Lake Worth, Fla.) demolished a fastball, sending it into orbit in right center, making it 5-1.

The Bulls added two more in the eighth on a Coco Montes (Miami) homer with Kyle Phillips (Orlando) aboard, making it 9-1. In the top of the ninth, USF added to the outburst with six runs on just three hits, capped by Montes' second blast of the day, a three-run shot.

Key Stats

16 – USF had 16 hits, the 19^th time it recorded double-digit hits this year.   
13 – USF's 13 runs marked the 11^th time it scored double-digit runs this year.
9 – Strzelecki tossed the first complete game for any USF arm this season and the second of his career.
5 – Five Bulls had multiple hits.
4 – Phillips had a career-best four hits (4-for-5) with four singles.
1 – After issuing 10 walks to ECU last night, Strzelecki surrendered just one.

Notables

• In Strzelecki's last two games against the Pirates, he has combined for 17.1 innings pitched, allowed just eight hits, four runs (two earned) and two walks with 14 strikeouts.
• Montes hit his first two homers of the season and hit two in the same game for the first time in his career. He finished with five RBI and three runs.
• Genord finished 2-for-3 with three runs and three RBI. He was on base four times.
• Catcher Tyler Dietrich (Naples, Fla.) went 3-for-5 with a run and a RBI.

Up Next
The Bulls and Pirates will have a rubber match to decide the weekend series beginning Sunday at 11 a.m. The game was originally scheduled for noon, but got bumped up an hour due to expected rain.  

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.