GoUSFBulls.com Bulls Survive 13-Inning Marathon With Toledo, 4-3

[Brad]

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Bulls Survive 13-Inning Marathon With Toledo, 4-3

The Bulls walked a season-high 12 times

 

TAMPA, MARCH. 3, 2017 – Despite just five hits, the University of South Florida baseball team was able to earn 12 walks and saw its bullpen toss 6.2 scoreless frames in Friday’s 4-3 walkoff win over Toledo.   

The Bulls (8-1) struck twice in the first inning. A Kevin Merrell (Odessa, Fla.) leadoff walk turned into a scoring opportunity when a failed pickoff attempt went to the right field fence. With Merrell on third, Luke Border (Winter Haven, Fla.) doubled to left to bring in the first run. A David Villar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) double on the next at bat brought home Borders to give USF a 2-0 lead.

But the Rockets (1-8) used a pair of infield singles and a pair of walks in the third frame to tie the score, 2-2. After both sides tacked on runs in the fourth, the teams had to turn to their bullpens, which were lights out. After the Rockets loaded the bases in the seventh with just one away, Michael Jacob came on and struck out the next two Bulls.

He would strikeout a total of eight host players over 3.2 innings of one-hit ball to keep the offense at bay. But junior Joe Cavallaro (Venice, Fla.) matched the efforts behind 4.2 scoreless innings of his own one-hit ball and six strikeouts. 

The efforts sent the game into extras, where Toledo finally had to make a pitching change. The Bulls threatened in the 11th by loading the bases before a Borders groundout to first base ended the opportunity. But USF again juiced the base pads in the 13th, as Garrett Zech (Naples, Fla.) got on first due to a dropped fly ball by the second baseman. Borders came up for a second time with three men aboard and patiently took a five pitch walk to clinch to four-hour win. 

Key Stats

• Merrell went 1-for-4 with a run scored and matched a career high with four base on balls.
• Borders tallied just one hit (1-6) but drove in two runs.
• Villar also went 1-for-4, drove in a run and walked twice.
• Senior starter Phoenix Sanders (Gainesville, Fla.) went 6.1 innings, gave up seven hits, walked one and struck out nine.
• Classmate Ryan Valdes (Tampa) pitched the final two frames for the Bulls, allowing just one hit while striking out three to pick up the win.

Notables

• The Bulls are now 3-1 against the Rockets all-time.
• Cavallaro has logged 8.0 innings in his last three appearances and has surrendered just four hits, two walks and struck out 15.

[bullsbucsfan426]

Think the team is riding a little too high after beating FSU. Yes, we've won like 6 in a row, but the last two weekends we've had close games against teams with a combined 1 win. 

Need to get it together a bit. 

[Brad]

 

[BAMABULL]

bullsbucsfan  you are very right

[Apis Bull]

5 hours ago, bullsbucsfan426 said:

Think the team is riding a little too high after beating FSU. Yes, we've won like 6 in a row, but the last two weekends we've had close games against teams with a combined 1 win. 

Need to get it together a bit. 

Baseball is the one sport where it is really true that anyone can beat anyone else on any given day.

[Bull Matrix]

For the record, the PapaJohns 50% off deal worked today!! Thanks to John Lewis and USF for getting this taken care of. Go Bulls!!!