TAMPA, FLA., MARCH 30, 2019 – Despite 15 hits, the USF baseball team lost Saturday's offensive battle, 13-7, to No. 14 ECU Saturday night.   
 
The Bulls (12-13, 1-4 The American) were again playing catch up, as the Pirates (20-6, 5-0 The American) scored a run in the first. USF immediately matched in the bottom half. Jordan Santos (Tampa) led off with a single to left. With two runners on, Austin Bodrato (Northvale, N.J.) singled through the right side, scoring Santos from second.
 
ECU retook the lead in the fourth on a pair of solo home runs, making it 3-1. The Bulls didn't wait long to retaliate, as a two-out rally was started by a Kyle Phillips (Orlando) single in the bottom of the fifth. After Joe Genord (Lake Worth, Fla.) walked, Bodrato drove in his second run with a single to left, scoring Phillips. Freshman Brandon Schrepf (Gulf Breeze, Fla.) gave the Bulls their first lead of the weekend in the next at-bat, doubling to left to score two, making it 4-3.
 
ECU came right back in the top of the sixth to tie the game at 4-4. The inning wasn't over, as what turned out to be a sixth-run frame was capped by a grand slam, making it 9-4. After trading runs in the seventh, ECU led, 10-5.
 
The Bulls cut into the lead in the eighth, as Nick Gonzalez (Tampa) led off with a double. Two batters later, Santos doubled down the right field line, scoring Gonzalez. Two batters later, senior Joe Genord (Lake Worth, Fla.) drilled a RBI double off the center field wall, making it 10-7.
 
But ECU responded with three more runs in the top of the ninth to put the game out of reach.  
 
Key Stats
5 – Phillips went 3-for-5 with two runs and has at least two hits in five of the last six games.  
3 – Bodrato's career high for hits.   
16 – Bodrato has reached base safely in 16 straight games.
7 – Seven Bulls had hits.

Nota-Bulls

• USF now has double-digit hits in eight games this year.
• Bodrato finished 3-for-5 with a run and two RBI.
• Jake Sullivan (Tampa) matched a career best with three hits, going 3-for-5 with a RBI.  

Up Next

The Bulls and Pirates conclude the series 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 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 11^th 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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