DELAND, Fla., JUNE 1, 2018 – Chris Chatfield hit his third home run and Coco Montes extending his hit streak to 19 games, as the second-seeded USF baseball team fell to the three seed Oklahoma St., 9-2, in the opening game of DeLand Regional.
 
Chatfield (Riverview, Fla.) hit his fourth home run of the season in the second inning, and Montes (Miami) went 2-for-5 with a run scored.
 
The Bulls (35-21-1) tallied first with a solo homer from Chatfield in the second, as the junior went the opposite way. The Cowboys (30-24-1) evened the score in the top of the third, making it 1-1.
  
After Oklahoma St. put two in scoring position with one away in the fourth and couldn't score, USF loaded the bases in the bottom half, but couldn't capitalize. The Cowboys went ahead with a solo home run to lead off the fifth, then added three runs in the sixth to lead 5-1.
 
USF loaded the bases for a second time in the bottom of the sixth with just one out. But the bags were left juiced, ending the threat. Montes led off the seventh with a double to left, and two batters later, junior first team all-conference third baseman David Villar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) drove him home with a single to center, making it 5-2.
 
It was as close as the Bulls would get, as Oklahoma St. scored four in the ninth and went on to win, 9-2.

Quotables
Head coach Billy Mohl's thoughts on the opening game to regional play:
"Oklahoma St. played well and had more key hits than we did. We left some runners on base, but we've been in this situation before this season losing the first game to a weekend, and we've been able to bounce back."

Head coach Billy Mohl on the chances the team had, loading the bases twice:
"We had opportunities to score, and majority of the time when we have runners on, we're producing. It's what you love about the game and it's what you hate about it sometimes. We've got a confident bunch, it just wasn't our day."   
 
Head coach Billy Mohl on the depth of the sport in Florida with Stetson hosting a regional and a handful of teams advancing to postseason play:
"If you're a college baseball player, you want to play in one of the big three states for the sport which are California, Texas and Florida. The talent in the state is tremendous and that's a reason why everyone's RPI is so high because the level of competition we face down here is strong."    
  
Coco Montes on the team's mentality heading into the elimination game:
"We're happy to be in a regional, but we're here to win it. We've been in this situation before, losing the first game in Clearwater and in series. We're confident when we can bounce back and win when we need to."   
 
Key Stats

22 – Montes moves into a tie for sixth on USF's single-season list with his 22 doubles.
19 – Montes's current hit streak, a season long for any Bull this year.   

Notables

• Junior Kyle Phillips (Orlando) went 2-for-4.
• Chatfield finished 1-for-2 with the homer and two walks.
• The Bulls are no strangers to elimination games, having won three-straight at the conference tournament in Clearwater last week.

Up Next
USF will face either the hosts Stetson or fourth-seeded Hartford at 1 p.m. Saturday. The winner will then play the loser of the winner's matchup on Sunday at 1 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 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.