War on I-4 Weekend in Orlando; Bulls and Knights Begin Series Friday
WEEKEND MATCHUP: USF at UCF
SERIES SCHEDULE: Friday, 6 p.m.; Saturday, 6 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m.
LOCATION: John Euliano Park
FOLLOW: Live stats |Twitter updates
@USFBaseball
RADIO LINK: Friday - 1040 AM and GoUSFBulls.com, Sat. & Sun. 1040 AM and
BullsUnlimited
WATCH: www.ucfknights.tv/
GAME NOTES
TAMPA, April 4, 2019 – The War on I-4 continues this weekend in Orlando, as the USF baseball team takes on UCF in the start of three-game series Friday at 6 p.m.
The Bulls (13-14, 1-5 The American) got back on track in a big way Tuesday against FGCU. USF tallied 20 hits for the first time since Feb. 16, 2013, en route to a 15-4 win. In total, 10 Bulls recorded hits, seven with multiple hits and 12 men reached base safely.
Senior
Joe Genord (Lake Worth, Fla.) had three hits highlighted by a grand slam in an eight-run third inning. Classmate
Kyle Phillips (Orlando) and junior
Austin Bodrato (Northvale, N.J.) also had three hits.
Sophomore
Baron Stuart (Okeechobee, Fla.) will get the ball in game one, junior righty
Collin Sullivan (Randolph, Mass.) will get the ball for USF in game two, followed by senior
Alec Wisely (Jacksonville, Fla.) in game three.
The Matchup
The Bulls and Knights will meet for the 135th time Friday night when the War on I-4 resumes. USF took 2-of-3 from the Knights in Tampa last season. UCF took 2-of-3 from the Bulls in Orlando to end the 2017 season, then bested USF in the conference tournament the following week. The Bulls lead the all-time series, 71-63. USF owns the edge in Tampa, 42-25, and the Knights lead the series in Orlando, 35-23.
Know the Foe
UCF (18-11, 1-5 The American) is also looking to move up in the conference standings this weekend. The Knights lead the league in stolen bases with 50. Senior Matthew Mika is responsible for that with 15 swipes, as he's batting .304 with eight doubles. Tyler Osik leads the team with a .363 average, five homers, seven doubles and 21 RBI. Ray Alejo is right behind, hitting .360 with nine doubles and 29 runs.
Lefty Grant Shcuermann will start Friday. He leads the team with a 2.60 ERA and has 29 strikeouts in seven starts. Preseason all-conference selection Chris Williams starts Saturday, as he's 2-2 with a 5.67 ERA.
Nota-Bulls
- Junior Jordan Santos (Tampa) is 19th nationally with 1.0 walk per game.
- Phillips is batting .339 on the year and has multiple hits in seven of the last nine games.
- Sullivan is second in the conference with 49 strikeouts.
- Genord is tied for fourth in program history with 39 career home runs.
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.
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 –
