DELAND, Fla., JUNE 2, 2018 – After Hartford tied the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the ninth, the USF baseball team erupted for five runs in the top of the 11
th to stay alive in the DeLand Regional with a 9-4 extra-inning win.
The Bulls (36-21-1) loaded the bases with in the top of the 11
th inning, and junior captain
David Villar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) atoned for an error in the ninth with a two-RBI single to center. In the next at-bat, junior all-conference first baseman
Joe Genord (Lake Worth, Fla.) crushed a three-run homer, making it 9-4. Closer
Andrew Perez (Orlando) finished off the game in the bottom half to keep USF's postseason run alive.
Junior shortstop
Coco Montes (Miami) extended his hit streak to 20 games on the first at-bat of the game with a solo homer to left. The Hawks (26-31) tied it up immediately in the bottom half, tallying two hits. USF retook the lead in the second.
Kyle Phillips (Orlando) walked, advanced to second on a
Garrett Zech (Naples, Fla.) bunt single, then a wild pitch allowed the former to score from third.
Hartford threatened in the third, loading the bases, but couldn't drive in a run. After a Villar sac fly to score Montes made it 3-1 in the fifth, the Hawks again loaded the bases in the bottom half, but three separate time. Lefty
Shane McClanahan (Cape Coral, Fla.) minimized the damage and only allowed one run in the inning, preserving the lead, 3-2.
Both sides traded runs in the sixth, and neither did much in the next two innings, setting up a one run affair in the bottom of the ninth. With a runner on second and two outs, a hard grounder was hit to Villar, who backhanded the ball and tried to make a strong throw to first, but it got away from Genord and allowed the tying run to score.
Zech walked, then stole second to begin the 11
th.
Tyler Dietrich (Naples, Fla.) walked and Montes was hit by a pitch to load the bags. Two batters later, Villar came through with what turned out to be the game winner, and Genord added the insurance before turning things over to Perez, who picked up his sixth win.
Key Stats
23 – Montes moved into a tie for fifth on USF's single-season list, hitting his 23 doubles.
2 - As a team, USF hit three doubles and now has 146 on the season.
16 – Genord's home run total this season, moving him
20 – Montes's current hit streak, a season long for any Bull this year.
11 – USF tallied 11 hits, the 33
rd time it had double-digit hits this year.
Notables
- Montes finished 2-for-4 with three runs and one RBI. He has four hits in the first two games of the regional.
- Villar finished 2-for-5 with three RBI and a run.
- Junior Chris Chatfield (Riverview, Fla.) finished with two hits and both Zech and Phillips were on base three times apiece.
Up Next
USF will meet either third-seeded Oklahoma St. or top-seeded Stetson at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The winner will then play the winner of tonight's Hatter-Cowboy game at 7 p.m. Sunday.
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.
– #GoBulls –
