No. 24 Bulls Make 13th Tournament NCAA Appearance, Earn No. 2 Seed in DeLand Regional
DeLand Regional BracketÂ
TAMPA, Fla., MAY 28, 2018 – The University of South Florida baseball team's impressive regular season and trip to the semifinals of The American Athletic Conference Championship was culminated in the program's 13
th NCAA Tournament berth, selected as the No. 2 seed in the DeLand regional.
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Location: DeLand, Fla. | Melching Field
Seeds: No. 1 Stetson (45-11, 15-3 ASUN)
           No. 2 USF (35-20-1, 14-9-1 The American)
           No. 3 Oklahoma St. (29-24-1, 16-8 Big 12)
           No. 4 Hartford (26-29, 16-8 America East)
Games: USF vs. Oklahoma St. – Friday, June 1 | 1 p.m.
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            Stetson vs. Hartford – Friday, June 1 | 7 p.m.
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Saturday and Sunday game times will be the same, with the loser's bracket at 1 p.m. and the winner's at 7 p.m. Monday will be the if-necessary game at 7 p.m.. All contests can be streamed live on ESPN3.
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The Bulls (35-20-1) have gone to regionals in three of the last four seasons and were also a No. 2 seed last year in the Gainesville Regional. USF went 3-2 at The American Baseball Championship in Clearwater, advancing to the semifinals of the tournament for the first time since 2012.
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The Bulls have won at least one game in each of the last six regionals. It will be the program's 11
th regional in the state of Florida. For first year head coach
Billy Mohl, it will be his fifth NCAA appearance, having made four as an assistant (two with USF).
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Led by six all-conference selections, USF's veteran club is highlighted by team captain and first-team All-American Athletic Conference third baseman, junior
David Villar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.). Villar spearheaded a Bulls' offense that finished second in the country during the regular season with 142 doubles and finished first in the conference in hitting (.299), hits (581) and slugging (.469). Villar finished eighth nationally with 24 doubles, third most on the program's single-season list. He was second in the league with a .379 average.
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Duke Stunkel Jr. (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) was named to the second team all-conference for a second-straight year, hitting .343 with 16 doubles and 37 runs.
Coco Montes (Miami) was an all-conference selection for the first timing, hitting a career-best .332 with 21 doubles, 39 RBI and 39 runs scored. He was named to The American Championship All-Tournament team.
Joe Genord (Lake Worth, Fla.) was named all-conference for the first time as well, hitting .317 with 15 homers and 50 RBI.
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Senior righty
Peter Strzelecki (Lake Worth, Fla.) was named all-conference for a second-straight year, leading the Bulls with a 9-3 record, posting 97 strikeouts in 87.1 innings. Lefty closer
Andrew Perez (Orlando) finished with 12 saves, the first Bull to reach double digits since 2015. Preseason All-American
Shane McClanahan (Cape Coral, Fla.) finished the season tops in the country with 15.06 strikeouts per nine innings.
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Quick Look - Regional Teams
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Stetson
The Hatters are making history as the first ASUN team host a regional. The team is riding a nation-long 15 game winning streak and boast one of the nation's best pitching staffs. Stetson was the regular season and ASUN Tournament champs. Stetson holds a slim 85-83 edge in the all-time series against USF.
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Oklahoma St.
The Cowboys finished second in the Big 12 and are making their 44
th NCAA Tournament appearance, their sixth in a row. The 44 total trips ranks fourth all-time. OSU has 147 wins in NCAA postseason history, ranking sixth all-time. The Bulls and Cowboys are tied 4-4 in the all-time series.
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Hartford
The Hawks claimed their first-ever America East Championship on Saturday. Hartford tied a program-record with 16 wins in conference play, also claiming its first regular-season America East title. It will be the Hawks' first NCAA appearance. USF is 2-0 against Hartford all-time.
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 have continued the success under first-year head coach Billy Mohl in 2018, reaching the 30-win mark, advancing to the semifinals of the conference tournament for the first time since 2012, while being ranked in multiple polls since mid-April. USF earned its third NCAA Regional berth in the last four seasons and is be led by six all-conference selections heading into postseason play. The USF Baseball program has won five conference titles and the Bulls have made 13 NCAA appearances.
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– #GoBulls –
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