TAMPA, FEB. 17, 2019 – Behind timely hits and a stellar bullpen outing, the USF baseball team won its opening series against Samford with a 4-1 victory in Sunday's rubber match.
The Bulls (2-1) again found themselves down early, as Samford plated a run in the second. USF responded in the next frame with a two-out rally. After
Jake Sullivan (Tampa) worked a walk, the first of three hits from freshman shortstop
Nick Gonzalez (Tampa) led to a bases-clearing double off the bat of
Jordan Santos (Tampa), giving the Bulls a 2-1 lead.
Junior transfer
Ben Koff (Gainesville, Fla.) entered in the third inning in a tight situation with two men on and nobody out. The righty struck out one, then loaded the bases on a walk before induces a critical comebacker which led to a 1-2-3 inning ending double play.
Koff was lights out from that point on, retiring the side in both the fourth and fifth frames and allowing just one baserunner in the sixth. Koff got into some minor trouble in the seventh, as two baserunners reached with two outs. Second-year head coach
Billy Mohl went back to the bullpen, calling on sophomore righty
Graham Hoffman (Tampa), who immediately recorded a strikeout.
In the bottom half, Gonzalez again sparked a needed surge with a single up the middle. After Santos walked, senior
Kyle Phillips (Orlando) laced a single into right, scoring Gonzalez to make it 3-1.
The Bulldogs (1-2) had their best chance to answer in the eighth, went they loaded the bases on Hoffman with no outs. Similar to the conference tournament in Clearwater against UConn last May when Hoffman entered a bases-loaded no-out situation, the now-sophomore locked in. Using only 13 pitches, Hoffman struck out the next three to preserve the lead and give his dugout a reason to erupt.
The Bulls added an insurance run in the bottom half on a sacrifice fly from Sullivan and Hoffman remained in for the ninth, securing his first save and a series win.
Key Stats
13 – Koff and Hoffman combined for 13 strikeouts over seven scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and one walk.
8 – USF is now 8-2-1 in their last 11 rubber matches since the beginning of 2018.
.500 – Gonzalez hit .500 in his first full collegiate series, going 7-for-14 with four runs and three RBI.
Notables
- Junior Austin Bodrato (Northvale, N.J.) hit .667 in his first series as a Bull with a double, a homer, two runs and a RBI.
- The Bulls' pitching staff had 36 strikeouts over the weekend.
- Phillips hit .308 in the series.
Up Next
The Bulls now begin arguably their toughest stretch of the season with five-straight games against ranked teams. The first test is Tuesday in Tampa against what will be a top-10 Florida program. First pitch at USF Baseball Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m. Purchase tickets at
USFBullsTix.com.
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 continued the success under first-year head coach Billy Mohl in 2018, reaching 36 wins and advancing to the semifinals of the conference tournament for the first time since 2012, while being ranked in multiple polls for the final two months. USF earned its third NCAA Regional berth in the last four seasons and had six all-conference selections in 2018. The team had four players drafted in the 2018 MLB Draft, including the program's fourth first rounder, Shane McClanahan. Junior third baseman David Villar was taken in the 11th round after tallying 24 doubles and hitting better than .370, being named first team all-conference and an All-American. The USF Baseball program has won five conference titles and the Bulls have made 13 NCAA appearances.
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