TAMPA, APRIL 17, 2018 – The University of South Florida baseball team scored five runs in the first three innings and a strong bullpen effort helped aid in Tuesday's 7-1 win over North Florida.
After the Ospreys (18-19, 4-5 ASUN) took a 1-0 lead in the first, The Bulls (24-13, 7-5 The American) responded with two runs in the bottom half before the first out was recorded.
Coco Montes (Miami) and
Duke Stunkel Jr. (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) hit consecutive doubles, then
David Villar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) gave USF a lead it wouldn't relinquish with a RBI single to left.
Stunkel Jr. singled in the second with Montes on first, bringing him home and making it 3-1. In the third, after
Chris Chatfield (Riverview, Fla.) singled,
Kyle Phillips (Orlando) smashed a two-run homer to right, putting the Bulls up 5-1.
USF added two more runs, but it was plenty, as the bullpen combined for 7.1 scoreless innings allowing only six hits with 11 strikeouts.
Key Stats
13 – USF had 13 hits, the 21
st time it recorded double-digit hits this year and the third-straight game.
10 – Sophomore lefty
Noah Yager (Davie, Fla.) was outstanding, tossing 5.1 innings out of the bullpen with a career-high 10 strikeouts and only one walk.
4 – Montes had a career-best four hits, while scoring two runs.
Notables
- Stunkel Jr. went 3-for-4 with a run and two RBI.
- Sophomore Carson Ragsdale (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) went 2-for-4 in the DH spot.
- Junior Garrett Zech (Naples, Fla.) made it 7-1 in the eighth inning with a solo home run. It was his fifth of the season. He also has six doubles and six triples this season.
- Villar and Phillips each had two RBI.
Up Next
The War on I-4 comes to Tampa, as a three-game series with rival UCF begins Friday at 7 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.
– #GoBulls –
