Bulls Begin Final Homestand Tuesday against UNF
Matchup: USF (23-13, 7-5 The American) vs. UNF (18-18, 4-5 ASUN)
Date: Tuesday, April 17
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Tampa, Fla. | USF Baseball Stadium (3,211)
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TAMPA, April 16, 2018 – The University of South Florida baseball team returns to town for the start of its final home stand, beginning with the University of North Florida Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
The Bulls (23-13, 7-5 The American) are fresh off their series win at No. 7 ECU over the weekend. After dropping Friday's contest, 15-2, USF flipped the script with a 13-1 drubbing in Game 2 before clinching the series with a 5-4 victory Sunday.
Redshirt senior
Peter Strzelecki (Lake Worth, Fla.) gave the Bulls a sensational effort Saturday night with his second career nine-inning complete game, allowing just one run on five hits. He was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week on Monday.
The offense hit .322 over the weekend and junior
David Villar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) had a pair of multi-hit games against ECU. He hit .467 in four games last week with two doubles, five runs scored and a pivotal solo home run which ultimately turned out the be the difference in Sunday's win. He was named to The American Weekly Honor Roll Monday.
Tyler Dietrich (Naples, Fla.) hit .462 over the weekend with a team-high six hits, three RBI and two doubles and
Kyle Phillips (Orlando) hit .455.
USF will start freshman righty
Baron Stuart (Okeechobee, Fla.) Tuesday. He's 2-2 on the year.
SERIES HISTORY
The Bulls lead the series with the Ospreys, 9-7. USF tallied 16 hits in a 12-5 win at North Florida on March 21. The Bulls are 6-4 against UNF in Tampa and have won three-straight meetings.
Junior
JD Dutka (Suwanee, Ga.) went 4-for-5 with four runs scored and a triple against UNF in the first matchup of the year.
Coco Montes (Miami) went 3-for-5 with three RBI and a double in that game. All nine in the USF lineup recorded a hit.
SCOUTING REPORT
The Ospreys are 18-18 on the year and have been carried offensively by Tanner Murphy, who leads the ASUN with a .370 average, 54 hits, 10 home runs, and a .658 slugging percentage. He's second with 32 runs scored and third with 12 stolen bases. Dalton Board and Blake Voyles have started just 22 games apiece, but are hitting .337 and .326, respectively.
Matt Vaka will start for UNF on Tuesday. He has appeared in 12 games with one start and holds a 3.33 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 27.0 innings of work.
NOTA-BULLS
- USF's RPI jumped from 53 to 29 thanks to the big series win at the Pirates. The Bulls have five wins over teams currently ranked in the top-25, having beaten No. 15 UNC, taken 2-of-3 from No. 24 UConn and the two wins against now-No. 12 ECU.
- The Bulls are tops in the conference with a .298 team average, a .466 slugging, 242 runs scored, 372 hits, 95 doubles and 14 triples. They sit third nationally in doubles and eighth in triples.
- Villar is third in the conference with a .389 average and is sixth in the NCAA with 16 doubles.
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 –
