CINCINNATI, Ohio, May 18, 2018 – Through 18 innings, a three-hour rain delay and 12 hours at the ballpark, the 24^th—ranked University of South Florida baseball team completed Friday's doubleheader sweep of Cincinnati with a late 9-8 win in Game 2, clinching the No. 2 seed in next week's American Athletic Conference Championships.  

Much like the first game of the doubleheader, the Bulls (32-18-1, 14-9-1 The American) jumped ahead in the first on three runs, highlighted by a two-run homer by Joe Genord (Lake Worth, Fla.).

In the second inning, Duke Stunkel Jr. (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) hit his second home run of the year, making it 4-0. The Bearcats (28-26, 12-12 The American) got on the board in the bottom half and then trimmed the lead for a second time in the fourth, making it 4-2.

Coco Montes (Miami) led off the fifth with a double down the left field line, followed by a Stunkel Jr. walk. Genord and Chris Chatfield (Riverview, Fla.) each had RBI singles, then Kyle Phillips (Orlando) drove in Genord with a sac fly, making it 7-2.

The Bearcats added two in the bottom of the seventh with one out to make it 7-4. But weather took a turn for the worse, and lightning delay of more than two hours ensued. The teams finally retook the field at 9:10 p.m.

After USF made it 8-4 in the top of the eighth, Cincy loaded the bags with no outs in the bottom half. Following a walk, which made it 8-5, a bases-clearing double tied the game.

Phillips began the ninth with a hard hit double off the left field fence, then two batters later, Montes drove him in with a single up the middle, making it 9-8. Andrew Perez (Orlando) finished the job in the bottom half to give USF its 32^nd win and the No. 2 seed.

Key Stats

2 – USF finished the regular season with the No. 2 seed heading into next week's conference tournament in Clearwater.
14 – For the second-straight year, the Bulls finish with 14 conference wins.
29 – The Bulls tallied 14 hits, the 29^th they've had double-digit hits in 2018.
6 – The Bulls had multi-hit games.

Notables

• USF improved to 6-1-1 in league series, winning the last four of the last five.
• The Bulls finished 10-2-1 in weekend series, losing to only UNC and Houston.  
• Montes went 3-for-5 with a run and the game-winning RBI.
• Stunkel Jr. went 2-for-4 with three runs scored.
• Genord went 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBI. He tied David Villar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) for the team lead with his 12^th homer.
• Villar, Chatfield and Phillips had two hits apiece.

Up Next
The Bulls and will play the No. 7 on Wednesday, May 23, at 11 a.m. to begin the conference tournament. USF will play either Tulane (9-14 The American) or Wichita St. (8-14-1). The Green Wave wraps up their series at UCF Saturday and the Shockers finish their series at Memphis Saturday as well.

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.