GoUSFBulls.com Bulls Fall to ECU in 2nd Round of AAC Tourney

[Brad]

USF ATHLETICS GoUSFBulls.com

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Bulls Fall to ECU in 2nd Round of AAC Tourney

By TOM ZEBOLD

USF Senior Writer

CLEARWATER, Fla., MAY, 25, 2017 – USF nearly punched its ticket to the American Athletic Conference Championship semifinals for the first time on Thursday night.

Fourth-seeded USF took a two-run lead into the ninth inning of a heartbreaking 6-5 loss to No. 8 seed East Carolina in the second round at Spectrum Field. USF (41-16) now turns its attention to an elimination game against rival UCF on Friday afternoon.

ECU's comeback spoiled a stellar night at the plate for senior Luke Borders, who drove in two of his three total runs in the sixth inning to give the Bulls a 5-3 lead.

After rallying past Tulane, 7-6, on Tuesday night, USF flipped the script by jumping out to an early lead against the Pirates (31-27). Borders (Winter Haven, Fla.) hit an RBI groundout that plated leadoff man Kevin Merrell (Odessa, Fla.) in the midst of a 24-pitch first inning for ECU starter Trey Benton.

ECU tied things up in the bottom half of the first before Chris Chatfield showcased his power for the second straight game. The sophomore from Riverview, Fla., put USF back ahead with a solo shot to right field in the fourth. Chatfield's monster three-run homer to center field started the scoring for the Bulls on Tuesday night.

USF's bats heated back up during a three-run sixth inning that swung the lead back into the Bulls' favor. Duke Stunkel Jr. (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) tied the game at 3-3 with an RBI double down the left field line. USF's two-out rally continued with Borders' two-run single to left-center on a 3-2 count.

Pinch hitter Kirk Morgan drove in the winning run with a bunt single to cap off a three-run ninth for ECU, which handed top-seeded UCF a 14-3 loss in the opening round.

 

Notables

- USF was 32-0 this season when leading after eight innings prior to Thursday night.

- Starter Shane McClanahan hit 98 mph on the radar gun numerous times in his first inning back on the mound since May 12 at UConn. The redshirt freshman left-hander from Cape Coral, Fla., gave up two unearned runs and a hit in 3.2 innings.

- McClanahan became the second Bull to record 100 strikeouts this season, joining Phoenix Sanders (102). McClanahan struck out five and now has the team lead with 104. Jon Alexander owns the single-season program record with 130 in 1986.

- Duke Stunkel Jr.'s team-leading 16th double of the season tied the game at 3-3 during USF's three-run sixth inning.

 

Key Stats

- Kevin Merrell raised his season average to .394 by going 2-for-4. USF's speedy leadoff man also scored two runs.

- All-conference DH Luke Borders went 1-for-3 with three RBIs and a pair of walks.

 

Quotable

Head coach Mark Kingston's thoughts on his team after the tough loss:

“I told them I think they're if not the best team in the league, they're really close. We lost a heartbreaker tonight. That last inning was pretty tough for a lot of different reasons, it is what it is. We'll bounce back, we'll be just fine.”

Kingston on the Bulls' overall performance:

“We played extremely well. We hit well tonight, we played great defense, we pitched really, really well. The ninth inning, we just had some crazy things happen to us out of our control, so we're going to have to deal with it.”

Kingston on starter Shane McClanahan's return from an injury:

“Shane, it's been about a week and a half or two that he hasn't pitched, so it just took him a little time to settle in. Once he settled in, I thought he was really good. His velocity was up to 98 again, so the great thing to see is he was healthy.”

 

Up Next

USF will try to secure Kingston's 100^th win with the program at 3:00 p.m. Friday against rival UCF.

Tickets can be purchased at the Spectrum Field box office or by calling 727-467-4457. Fans out of town can catch the game online on the American Digital Network.

[JoeB]

We were 32-0 with a lead after 8 innings...until tonight.  This 9th inning was totally mismanaged by CMK.  I don't care what he says...Joe C was not our best option at that point of the game.

[Bull Matrix]

People may forget that ECU was favored to win the AAC. Won't be surprised if they win the tourney. Just got to tip your cap to them. 

[Ionbull]

9 hours ago, JoeB said:

We were 32-0 with a lead after 8 innings...until tonight.  This 9th inning was totally mismanaged by CMK.  I don't care what he says...Joe C was not our best option at that point of the game.

I agree, was expecting AP to come in. I'm not sure if his IP on Tuesday was a factor though? The way the strike zone was squeezed it probably wouldn't have mattered. Again that's not an excuse, but I see a situation where someone else comes in and the same outcome occurs.

Edited May 26, 2017 by Ionbull

[NCBull]

11 hours ago, JoeB said:

We were 32-0 with a lead after 8 innings...until tonight.  This 9th inning was totally mismanaged by CMK.  I don't care what he says...Joe C was not our best option at that point of the game.

Agree 100%.

[charsibb]

Nathan's got a good article on it over at TDS. Basically he says it's Genord's fault for pissing off the ump

http://www.thedailystampede.com/2017/5/26/15696202/what-just-happened-usf-ecu-cliff-godwin-mark-kingston-aac-ucf-baseball-joe-cavallaro

 

[bullstampede9922]

2 hours ago, charsibb said:

Nathan's got a good article on it over at TDS. Basically he says it's Genord's fault for pissing off the ump

http://www.thedailystampede.com/2017/5/26/15696202/what-just-happened-usf-ecu-cliff-godwin-mark-kingston-aac-ucf-baseball-joe-cavallaro

 

Everyone knows you have to wait for the ump's permission to take first base on a walk.   <sarcasm>