USF Makes First Trip to Chapel Hill Since 1972
WEEKEND MATCHUP: USF at No. 6 UNC
SERIES SCHEDULE: Friday, 3 p.m.; Saturday, 1 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m.
LOCATION: Boshamer Stadium, Chapel Hill, N.C.
FOLLOW: Live stats |Twitter updates
@USFBaseball
RADIO LINKS: Friday-Sunday
WATCH: ACC Network Extra
GAME NOTES
TAMPA, FEB. 21, 2019 – The USF baseball team continues its tough early stretch with a rare road series, traveling to Chapel Hill to battle the No. 6 Tar Heels.
The Bulls responded in a big way Tuesday night at home against No. 5 Florida, as it defeated UF 6-1, marking the third win over a top-five team in the last four tries. USF held the Gators to just two hits and one run behind a strong start from sophomore
Baron Stuart (Okeechobee, Fla.).
Stuart tossed 4.0 scoreless and hitless innings with six strikeouts. Junior lefty
Logan Lyle (Bartow, Fla.) entered in the sixth inning, and with runners at the corners and nobody out, he struck out the side. Junior righty
Nelson Alvarez (Miami) closed the door in the ninth.
The offense had its best game of the year with 12 hits. The bats plated two runs in the first inning, then senior
Joe Genord (Lake Worth, Fla.) got the crowd going with a
towering homer to make it 3-0. Senior
Kyle Phillips (Orlando) added to the lead with a two-RBI double in the sixth inning as part of his three hit night.
Chris Chatfield (Riverview, Fla.) put the finishing touches on the lead with a solo shot in the seventh.
The Matchup
USF and UNC have met 15 times and Friday will mark the first meeting in Chapel Hill since the inaugural games in the series in 1972. The Tar Heels hold a 9-5-1 series edge. The Bulls won their first game of the series in 1975, then swept a two-game set in Tampa in 1980.
The sides opened the 2018 season in Tampa with a three-game series. USF took the opener, then the Heels took the next two, including a 9-8 10-inning battle in the rubber match.
Righty
Collin Sullivan (Randolph, Mass.) will get the start Friday night, looking to mimic what he did in the season opener against SOCON favorites Samford. The junior struck out a career high 10 over six innings of work. Senior righty Alec (Jacksonville, Fla.) makes his second start of the year in the second game. Sunday is TBD.
Carolina will throw three potential early-round selections in June's MLB Draft. Preseason All-American Gianluca Dalatri gets the start Friday as the first of three junior righty's in
the Tar Heels' rotation. Tyler Baum gets the ball in game two and Austin Bergner gets the start on Sunday.
Know the Foe
In addition to the talented weekend rotation, the Tar Heels possess a deep lineup featuring another preseason All-American, junior first basemen Michael Busch. He's hitting .333 with a homer, six runs and three RBI.
Junior catcher Brandon Martorano leads UNC with a .538 average during the 4-0 start with two doubles, a homer, six runs and three RBI. Junior shortstop Ike Freeman is second on the team with a .500 average and has a team best five RBI.
Nota-Bulls
• Junior transfer
Austin Bodrato (Northvale, N.J.) leads the Bulls with a .500 average.
• Freshman
Nick Gonzalez (Tampa) is hitting .444 with a team high six runs and Phillips is batting .412 with two doubles and four RBI.
Bulls Bits
- DID YOU KNOW?: USF has the only Division I coaching staff in the state of Florida in which every member was selected in the MLB Draft – head coach Billy Mohl (2006, Philadelphia); assistants Chuck Jeroloman (2004, Boston), Chris Cates (2007, Minnesota), Brian Jeroloman(2006, Toronto). The Bulls' coaching staff has a combined 25 years of playing experience in pro baseball.
- NON-CONFERENCE ROAD SERIES: USF experiences a road non-conference series for the first time since 2015 and just the third time over the last 10 years. It also marks just the second time in the last 10 years that the Bulls are leaving the state of Florida for a nonconference game, last doing so in 2015 when they went to Illinois for a weekend series.
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.
Follow the baseball team on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information.
– #GoBulls –
