TAMPA (April 25, 2023) – After erasing a 2-0 deficit in the first inning, the FGCU Eagles (30-11) exploded for seven runs in the fifth inning and five more in the seventh frame en route to a 14-3 victory over the University of South Florida Bulls (17-25) in seven innings on Tuesday afternoon at USF Baseball Stadium.
Daniel Cantu (Jacksonville) staked South Florida to an early 2-0 lead with his 11th home run of the season in the bottom of the first inning.
Nolan Hudi (Safety Harbor) retired the Eagles in order in the top of the first frame before surrendering single tallies in the second and third innings. Hudi exited the game with the score tied at 2-2 after four innings. The southpaw allowed a pair of runs on four hits and struck out nine batters.
FGCU entered the ballgame leading the NCAA in home runs (95) and ranked second in runs scored (404). The potent Eagles' offense proceeded to hang a crooked number on the scoreboard after Hudi's departure. FGCU homered twice and scored seven runs in the top of the fifth, including six unearned runs after a USF error extended the inning.
Trailing 9-2 in the sixth frame, the Bulls loaded the bases with no outs, but were only able to push across one run on an RBI from Joaquin Monque (Weston).
The Eagles belted their third home run of the day and plated five more runs in the top of the seventh inning to account for the final score.
Notable
- FGCU's Brian Ellis extended his NCAA-record streak of reaching base safely to 110 consecutive games.
- Rafael Betancourt (Deltona) went 2-for-3 for USF with his 11th multi-hit game of the season.
- Cantu has logged new career highs in hits (52), home runs (11) and RBI (41) this year. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
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Up Next
The Bulls wrap up their homestand with a three-game weekend series against Cincinnati on April 28-30 in Tampa.
About USF Baseball
The USF Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and is entering its 58th season in 2023 under head coach Billy Mohl (sixth season). The Bulls have made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, including four since 2015, and earned their first-ever Super Regional berth in 2021. USF was ranked in the Top 25 by five different publications in the final 2021 polls, checking in as high as No. 16. The Bulls have won five conference tournament titles (3 Sun Belt, 1 Metro and 1 American) and six regular season championships (3 Sun Belt, 2 Metro and 1 C-USA). USF baseball players have been recognized with All-America honors 12 times, most recently with third baseman David Villar in 2018, and 18 have earned Freshman All-America accolades, most recently Drew Brutcher and Carmine Lane in 2021. Four Bulls were selected in the 2022 MLB Draft. Former 2018 first-round selection, Shane McClanahan, became the program's first-ever MLB All-Star in 2022 and was the starting pitcher for the American League.
– #GoBulls –
