GoUSFBulls.com Bulls Sweep Saturday’s Twin Bill with Harvard

[Brad]

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Bulls Sweep Saturday’s Twin Bill with Harvard

USF extended its winning streak to 17 games

 

TAMPA, MARCH. 18, 2017 – The University of South Florida baseball team won with both pitching and offense to sweep Saturday’s double-header with Harvard and extend the winning streak to 17 games. 

In the opening game, the Bulls (18-1) plated three in the bottom of the sixth in the seven-inning contest, providing much-needed insurance. Redshirt-freshman Shane McClanahan (Cape Coral, Fla.) saw two runners get in scoring position in the first, but he settled down from there and dazzled the rest of the way.

McClanahan struck out a career-high 11 men in just 7.0 frames and did not allow a walk. The Crimson (7-6) did plate a run in the top of the seventh but it was all they would attain, as the hosts won 4-1.

Game two’s narrative changed significantly from the first contest, as seven combined runs were scored in the first two innings. After the Crimson took a 1-0 lead in the first, junior Kevin Merrell (Odessa, Fla.) tied the score with a leadoff homer to ignite a 3-0 inning for the Bulls.

Harvard tied the score once again in the top of the second, but USF took a lead for good in the bottom half. Sophomore Garett Zech (Naples, Fla.) led off with a triple to center, then Merrell drove him home in the next at bat.

USF added two more runs in the sixth and seventh, as starter Ryan Valdes (Tampa) settled down after allowing three runs in the first two frames, retiring 12 of 13 men at one point.

Harvard tacked on three runs in the final two innings, but the lead was enough to hold for an 8-6 win.

Key Stats

• Merrell went 4-for-8 on the day, 3-for-5 with two runs in game 2.
• Junior David Villar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) had a monster day, going 4-for-6 with two runs scored and five RBI in the two games. He hit his second homerun of the season in the first game.
• Sophomore Joe Genord (Lake Worth, Fla.) combined for a 3-for-7 day with two runs scored and two RBI.

Notables

• The Bulls’ 17-game winning streak is the second longest in program history and the second-longest active streak in the nation.
• The Bulls tallied at least 15 hits in game two, the sixth time in the last eight games in which the team has recorded at least 14 hits.
• Sophomore Coco Montes (Miami) saw his hitting-streak end in game one, though it was only a seven inning contest. But he responded in the second game with a 3-for-5 effort, a run scored and a RBI.
• Senior Luke Borders (Winter Haven, Fla.) picked up a hit in each of the two games and has now reached base safely in every game this season.

 

Up Next

The Bulls and Crimson wrap up the four-game series tomorrow afternoon with a 1:00 p.m. first pitch. The game can be streamed live on USF Baseball’s Facebook page.       

[chrisdashley]

Can anyone honestly tell me why Cal State Fullerton is ranked 10th at 9-5 and USF is not ranked at all?

[JTrue]

I can tell you exactly why, you just won't like it.

Fullerton is 12-5, with 5 wins against the top 50.

USF is 18-1, with 11 of those wins coming against teams outside top 100.

Edited March 19, 2017 by JTrue

[JTrue]

Everyone needs to relax with the baseball rankings. We weren't even receiving votes in the preseason polls in most rankings to start the year. Understandable, coming off a sub-.500 year last year with a largely unknown and incredibly young pitching staff coming off of multiple Tommy John surgeries. It's a 50+ game season. Baseball rankings take care of themselves with that long of a season. The teams ahead of us were all ranked in the preseason. Fullerton was top 15 in most polls and has taken care of business, dropping slightly down the first few weeks, but still notching a handful of quality wins. We've beaten FSU in one game and put together a phenomenal little streak lately. If we win tomorrow, we're absolutely ranked. Baseball is a marathon, not a sprint. Rankings mean very little in the big picture. Unlike football and basketball, the committee does a very good job seeding and placing teams for regionals. If we run up some wins now and play .667 baseball in the conference, we're golden. We play 30 OOC games. Let's say we drop a few, which is bound to happen and we finish 22-8 OOC. Add that to  24 conference games where we go 16-8 (don't know if that's reasonable, but I'm trying to calm nerves here) and we're 38-16. That's REALLY good. We're a top 15 team with that with an outside shot at hosting a regional.

Edited March 19, 2017 by JTrue

[Brad]

For the record, I don't care about any rankings.

[JTrue]

1 minute ago, Brad said:

For the record, I don't care about any rankings.

You're in the "others receiving votes" category for the Guy Who Runs a College Sports Message Board rankings.

[Brad]

1 minute ago, JTrue said:

You're in the "others receiving votes" category for the Guy Who Runs a College Sports Message Board rankings.

Thanks...but why?  

[JTrue]

Just now, Brad said:

Thanks...but why?  

You don't run a P5 board. You've done solid work, but look at your roster. Woof.

[Brad]

You aren't reading the web, @MHver3 says it's going to happen.  @TuxedoYoda confirms.  Getting a message board alone into the P5 is tough, see you suckers later.  We're to become the official board of the Vanderbilt Commodores.  Yay!!!

[JTrue]

Please. You think the AW thread would fly in the P5? That's straight G5 material. And the poop posts that keep showing up?!? Come on. No one is taking this board with that nonsense.