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Zebold: Masterful McClanahan, Bulls Start Season With 4-3 Win Over No. 6 North Carolina


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Masterful McClanahan, Bulls Start Season With 4-3 Win Over No. 6 North Carolina

By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, FEB. 16, 2018 – Behind Shane McClanahan's masterful performance, the motivated Bulls made a massive statement in their season opener by holding off No. 6 North Carolina, 4-3, before a crowd of 1,653 at USF Baseball Stadium on Friday night.

McClanahan (1-0) certainly lived up to his preseason All-America hype, striking out 11 batters and scattering three hits in six shutout innings to help make Billy Mohl a big winner in his head coaching debut. McClanahan's gem marked the redshirt sophomore's fourth double-digit strikeout performance as a Bull with his blazing fastball often reaching the mid to upper 90s.

USF's offense spotted McClanahan a 4-0 lead through five innings and first-year Bulls definitely delivered at the plate.

Junior Alec Wisely (Jacksonville) went 2-for-2 with two walks and gave USF the lead with a two-run single in the second inning. Freshman Graham Hoffman (Tampa) went 2-for-3 and extended the advantage to 3-0 with an RBI double in the fourth.

In the battle of preseason All-America starting pitchers, USF struck first with a two-run second inning off right-hander Gianluca Dalatri (0-1). Coco Montes (Miami) produced USF's first hit of the season before the Bulls loaded the bases with infield singles by Tyler Dietrich (Naples, Fla.) and Hoffman.

That set the stage for Wisely, who worked a 3-2 count and roped a two-run single to left with two outs. Wisely joined the Bulls after hitting nine homers in his first two seasons at Gulf Coast State College.

The Bulls' bats were back in business in the fourth inning, when Hoffman drove in Garrett Zech (Naples, Fla.) with a two-out triple deep to left-center. UNC's Dalatri was the first ace to exit after the Bulls totaled six hits and three runs in 3.2 innings against the D1Baseball preseason All-American.

USF extended its lead to 4-0 on a fielder's choice in the fifth, which proved to be an important insurance run. After McClanahan's night was finished, North Carolina cut the lead to 4-3 with a three-run homer by Michael Busch in the seventh.

After playing second base, Wisely gave the Bulls 1.1 innings of relief and fanned three to help USF total 16 strikeouts. Andrew Perez (Orlando) closed the door on the Tar Heels' comeback by striking out a pair of batters in 1.2 scoreless innings.

Quotable
Head coach Billy Mohl on Shane McClanahan's performance:
"He did what he was supposed to. He did what a Friday night guy was supposed to do. He gave us six quality innings and we were able to turn it over to the bullpen."

Shane McClanahan on the team delivering a victory for Mohl in his first game as USF's head coach:
"It's awesome. That guy has our back and we have his back, no matter what. We wanted him here and we got him."
 
Key Stats 
3 and 2 – Alec Wisely and Graham Hoffman combined to drive in three runs, all with two outs.
11 – Shane McClanahan fanned 11 batters after striking out the side in the fourth and fifth innings.
16 – USF's pitching staff struck out 16 total batters after leading the nation with 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings last season.

Notable

  • Shane McClanahan recorded the fourth double-digit strikeout outing of his USF career and finished two shy of matching his career high 13-strikeout performance against East Carolina on May 6, 2017.
  • USF improved to 6-1 in its past seven season openers and cut North Carolina's lead to 7-5-1 in the programs' all-time series.
  • The Bulls defeated a ranked team in the season opener for the second time in the past four seasons. USF topped No. 17 Cal State Fullerton to start the 2015 season in Clearwater.

 
Up Next
The Bulls and Tar Heels continue their three-game series 6:30 p.m. Saturday at USF Baseball Stadium. Purchase tickets at USFBullsTix.com.

Link

I have four tickets for Saturday's game, please email me

(For those out of town, today's game will stream on Facebook Live.  The rest of y'all  - get your butts to the field :) ).

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