GoUSFBulls.com Offense Erupts, as Bulls Take Game one Sunday

[Brad]

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Offense Erupts, as Bulls Take Game one Sunday
The Bulls scored six in the second and totaled 11 runs on 14 hits

MEMPHIS, TENN., APRIL 23, 2017 – The University of South Florida baseball team quickly erased a 2-0 deficit with six runs in the second and led 11-2 at one point, ultimately taking game one of Sunday’s doubleheader at Memphis, 11-6.

With leading hitter Kevin Merrell (Odessa, Fla.) already out of the lineup, redshirt-freshman Shane McClanahan (Cape Coral, Fla.) was forced to leave the game after facing the first batter. The Tigers hit a two-run shot off Ryan Valdes (Tampa) in the first, and the first game of the doubleheader looked shaky just three men in.

But the Bulls responded by scoring six runs in the top of the second, ignited by three-run homer from sophomore Chris Chatfield (Riverview, Fla.). After adding runs in the third and fifth, USF loaded the bases three different times in the sixth and plated three more to lead 11-2.

Memphis got four back in the bottom half behind a two-out rally. But it was too much of a hurdle to overcome, as the Bulls held on.

Key Stats

• Chatfield was just a triple short of the cycle, as he went 3-for-3 with two runs and a career-high five RBI.
• Senior Luke Borders (Winter Haven, Fla.) went 3-for-5 for the second-straight game. He scored a run and drove in one.
• Sophomores Tyler Dietrich (Naples, Fla.), Joe Genord (Lake Worth, Fla.) and Garrett Zech (Naples, Fla.) each had two hits with a RBI and run scored.
• Valdes logged 4.0 innings and struck out four.

Notables

• The Bulls improve to 6-3 on the road and 25-20 all-time against the Tigers. 
• The six run second marks the 15th inning this season that the Bulls have scored at least four runs. It is the third-most runs they have scored in an inning this year.
• Valdes improves to 8-0 on the season.
• The Bulls tallied double-digit hits for the 22nd time this season and double-digit runs for the seventh time.
• The win also clinches USF’s first series win at Memphis since 2000.

 

Up Next

The Bulls and Tigers conclude the series with game two of today’s doubleheader.   USF ATHLETICS GoUSFBulls.com
 

[Ionbull]

Wish we could've saved some of those runs for game 2! Still good to get a road victory.