Series info and discussion: War on I4

[BrassBulls12]

The war on I4 begins this Friday. The Bulls have a lot of momentum coming off a big series with over ECU. But UCF has had some success against big schools aw well, taking two games from #1 UF earlier in the season. Should be a good one but my money is on the Bulls.  

Edited April 18, 2018 by BrassBulls12

[BrassBulls12]

 

[Brad]

USF ATHLETICS GoUSFBulls.com

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Matchup: USF (24-13, 7-5 The American) vs. UCF (26-12, 6-6 The American) 
Dates: Friday, April 20 – Sunday, April 22
Times: 7 p.m. | 6:30 p.m. | 1 p.m.

Location: Tampa, Fla. | USF Baseball Stadium (3,211)
Follow: Stats | Listen | Watch (BullsVision - Friday & Sunday / Facebook Live – Saturday)

 

War on I-4 Takes to Tampa; Bulls and Knights Do Battle This Weekend
USF won the season series in 2017, 4-3, and swept UCF at home

 

TAMPA, April 19, 2018 – The University of South Florida baseball team gets set for the War on I-4, hosting this year’s edition against the University of Central Florida for a three-game series beginning Friday. 

The Bulls (24-13, 7-5 The American) won their third-straight game in their return home Tuesday against North Florida, 7-1. Sophomore lefty Noah Yager (Davie, Fla.) had a career night with 5.1 innings pitched in relief. He struck out a career-high 10 with just one walk.

Senior Duke Stunkel Jr. (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) went 3-for-4 with a run and two RBI. Coco Montes (Miami) had a career-high four hits with two runs in the win. 

USF’s pitching rotation will again start with lefty All-American Shane McClanahan (Cape Coral, Fla.) on Friday. He’s sixth nationally with 84 strikeouts and second with 15.02 strikeouts per nine innings.

Reigning American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week, redshirt senior Peter Strzelecki (Lake Worth, Fla.) will start Saturday. He’s fourth in the league with 64 strikeouts and leads the team with a 2.67 ERA. Righty Collin Sullivan (Randolph, Mass.) will start Sunday. 

SERIES HISTORY

The Bulls and Knights will meet for the 132^nd time Friday night when the War on I-4 resumes. USF swept UCF in Tampa from April 7-9 last season, just the third series sweep of at least three games in the history of the series. UCF took 2-of-3 from the Bulls in Orlando to end the season, then bested USF in the conference tournament. The Bulls lead the all-time series, 69-62, and own the edge in Tampa, 42-25. 

SCOUTING REPORT

The Knights are 26-12 on the year and had been ranked in the top-25 for a few weeks in the midst of winning 16-of-17 from Feb. 23-March 18, which included a midweek sweep of No. 1 Florida March 6-7. 

Sophomore first baseman Rylan Thomas leads The American with a .413 average and has a conference-best 10 homers. Matthew Mika is batting .326 with 23 stolen bases to rank fifth nationally. Tyler Osik is hitting .341 with a league-high 45 RBI. 

UCF will begin the weekend starting righty Cre Finfrock, making his third start of the season. He’s 3-0 with a 4.37 ERA. Going Saturday is righty Chris Williams, who is fourth in the league with a 1.87 ERA. He’s 4-1 in nine starts with 51 strikeouts. Redshirt junior JJ Montgomery (3-2, 3.14 ERA) will get the start in Game 3.  


NOTA-BULLS

·   Junior David Villar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) continues to lead USF with a .385 average and 16 doubles on the season, ranking him sixth nationally.

·   The Bulls are tops in the conference with a .300 team average, a .470 slugging, 249 runs scored, 385 hits, 98 doubles and 14 triples. They sit third nationally in doubles and 14^th in triples.  

·   Stunkel Jr. is hitting .313 against UCF in his career. 

·   Junior Garrett Zech (Naples, Fla.) hit his fifth home run of the year in Tuesday’s win against UNF. He also has six doubles and six triples this season, the latter ranking fourth in the country. 

[BrassBulls12]

 

[Brad]

Well, we drop the first.  

I got to listen to innings 4-9 and batters on boths sides were getting mowed down - as the score indicates.  Shane's ER was a triple followed by a WP.

 

 

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McClanahan and Cruz Sensational in Friday’s War On I-4 Loss

Both arms combined to allow just two hits and one run in a pitcher’s duel to begin the War On I-4 series

TAMPA, APRIL 20, 2018 – The University of South Florida baseball team dropped a pitcher’s duel to rival UCF, 1-0, in the first game of this weekend’s War On I-4 series.

The Knights (27-12, 7-6 The American) didn’t just enough in the first inning with a pair of hits and the game’s only run. A triple put a runner at third with one out, then a passed ball brought him home.

The Bulls (24-14, 7-6 The American) got their first hit in the second inning on a Kyle Phillips (Orlando) double to right. But both sides were stout from that point on.

There were a combined seven baserunners from that point on. USF had its best chance to get even with runners at the corners in the fourth, but did not capitalize.  

Key Stats

10 – Redshirt sophomore Shane McClanahan (Cape Coral, Fla.) allowed the lone and two hits in the first, but still struck out the side and fanned 10. It was his fifth game of the season with double-digit strikeouts. 

3.0 – Junior righty Richie Cruz (Miami) pitched the final 3.0 innings and did not allow a baserunner, while striking out four.

Up Next

The War on I-4 continues with game two scheduled for at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.    

 

[cophbulls]

Yeah, it was crazy, actually it was weird in that every pitcher on both sides was just phenomenal. So either the strike zone was ginormous or the crowd had every one laser focused. I heard people complaining about a 1-0 game as we left. I was thinking, jeez, that was the best pitching performance we've seen all year. I had expected that to happen last Friday to be honest. And that guy, Finfrock's not even their best pitcher. Wait'll you get a load of Williams tonight. 1.87 ERA 0.97 WHIP K/BB ratio 5.10 only 10 BB over 57.2 ip.....We needed to win last night, tonight is going to be tougher. And they'll probably trot out Sheridan on Sunday 2.18 ERA 1.32 WHIP over 45.1 IP......Their possible Sunday starter is as good as Strez is. 2.67 ERA 1.17 WHIP.....Plus once their hitting heats up....Ryan Thomas AVG .404 OPS 1.185....better be careful a sweep is possible. 

[Brad]

 

[Brad]

[Brad]

[Brad]

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Villar’s Late Homer Helps Bulls Even War On I-4 Series

David Villar hit the go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh and the bullpen allowed no earned runs in 3.0 innings of work

TAMPA, APRIL 21, 2018 – The University of South Florida baseball team got even on its rival University of Central Florida with a 5-4 win Saturday, forcing a rubber match in the War On I-4 series. 

The Bulls (25-14, 8-6 The American) tallied their first runs of the series in the third innings, as Carson Ragsdale (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) and Garrett Zech (Naples, Fla.) led off the inning with consecutive singles. Two batters later, Coco Montes (Miami) doubled to left, scoring Ragsdale. After a passed ball allowed Zech to score and Montes to move to third, David Villar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) made it 3-0 with a sac fly to center.

Redshirt senior Peter Strzelecki (Lake Worth, Fla.) had gotten loose prior to the original start time, but a two-hour delay pushed the start time back to 8:30. He was locked in through four with just one hit allowed and seven strikeouts.

The Knights (27-13, 7-7 The American) got to Strzelecki in the fifth with three runs on four hits, making it a brand new ballgame. But USF’s captain Villar put the team on his back in the seventh. With Montes at second, Villar drove a 1-1 pitch the opposite way and over the scoreboard to put the Bulls ahead 5-4.

Andrew Perez (Orlando) came in with two outs in the eighth and finished the job to even the series. 

Key Stats

8 – Villar’s homer with his eighth of the season.

2 – Ragsdale matched a career-best with two hits. It was the second time this week he went 2-for-4.  

5 – This will be USF’s fifth-straight rubber match to open conference play.

Notables

-       Montes finished 1-for-3 with two runs and a RBI.

-       Strzelecki struck out eighth over 5.0 and walked only one.

-       Junior lefty Kevin King (Orlando) tossed 2.0 innings, allowing only one hit in relief.

Up Next

The War on I-4 series will be decided Sunday at 1 p.m.