Series info: USF vs Cincinnati

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  MAY 17 (THU) 6:00 PM

  AMERICAN

  AT UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI

  CINCINNATI OH

   

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  MAY 18 (FRI) 6:00 PM

  AMERICAN

  AT UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI

  CINCINNATI OH

   

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  MAY 19 (SAT) 1:00 PM

  AMERICAN

  AT UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI

  CINCINNATI OH

   

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[Brad]

USF ATHLETICS GoUSFBulls.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Web Link: https://bit.ly/2IPkLgj

 

Matchup: No. 24 USF (30-17-1, 12-8-1 The American) at Cincinnati (27-24, 11-10 The American) 
Dates: Thursday, May 17 – Saturday, May 19

Times: 6 p.m. | 6 p.m. | 10:30 a.m.

Location: Cincinnati, Ohio. | Marge Schott Stadium (3,018)
Follow: Stats | Listen | Watch
 

No. 24 Bulls Wrap up Regular Season with Three in Cincinnati
USF is just one game back of second-place ECU heading into the final league weekend

 

TAMPA, May 16, 2018 – The University of South Florida baseball team heads to Cincinnati for the regular season’s final series, beginning Thursday at 7 p.m. 

The Bulls (30-17-1, 12-8-1 The American) remained in at least one national poll for a fourth-straight week, as they sit at No. 24 according to Perfect Game. USF’s RPI is No. 25 and it had been ranked as high as No. 20 three weeks ago.

The Bulls split their weekend at Wichita St., another top-30 RPI team. After falling in Game 1, the Bulls won Saturday’s game, 9-6, then played to a tie on Sunday. The Shockers and Bulls battled for more than four hours, but the game was stopped in the 11^th inning due to conference rules and time constraints.

Senior outfielder Duke Stunkel Jr. (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) led the Bulls hitting .588 last week with three RBI, a pair of doubles and five runs. He was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll on Monday.

Junior outfielder Kyle Phillips (Orlando) hit .533 with two runs and two RBI, tallying a career high four base knocks on Sunday. Phillips is hitting a team-best .383 during league action. As a team, USF hit .344 in Wichita and five Bulls batted better than .350.

SETTING THE STAGE

USF is in third place in The American with a 12-8-1 league mark, just a game behind ECU (13-8 The American). Houston clinched at least a share of the regular season title, sitting at 16-8 in conference.

The Bulls can end up with anywhere from the No. 2 to the No. 6 seed at next week’s American Championships. USF will finish no worse than third with two wins this weekend, and can secure the second seed with a series win and a UConn series win against ECU. 

SERIES HISTORY

The Bulls lead the all-time series against the Bearcats, 42-20. USF leads the series in Cincinnati, 18-12. The Bulls had won 15-of-16 in the series prior to dropping 2-of-3 from the Bearcats in both 2016 and 2017.

SCOUTING REPORT

The Bearcats have had a solid season under first-year head coach Scott Googins. At 27-24 after a 14-4 win over Ohio State on Tuesday, Cincinnati enters the weekend at 11-10 and in contention to possibly jump up as high as the No. 3 seed heading into next week’s American Championships.

Cincy is led by a pair of .300 hitters in Kyle Mottice (.302) and Manny Rodriguez (.301). Mottice has a team best 41 runs scored with 10 doubles and Rodriguez leads the team with 10 homers, 14 doubles and 33 RBI. 

On the mound, righty JT Perez has been the Bearcats’ top arm with a 2.48 ERA and a 6-3 record. He has logged 83.1 innings and has 62 strikeouts.  

NOTA-BULLS

·   Junior David Villar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) continues to lead the Bulls with a .371 average to sit second in The American. He is third in the league with 18 doubles and third with his 12 home runs.

·   The Bulls are tops in The American with a .295 team average and a .460 slugging percentage. They are second in scoring at 6.3 runs per game. USF is also second with 492 hits and it is now fourth nationally with 121 doubles, leading the country with 2.52 per game.  

·   USF’s pitching leads the conference and is fifth in the country with 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings. 

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This will not be easy. 

[Brad]

 

[Brad]

 

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[Brad]

USF ATHLETICS GoUSFBulls.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Web Link: https://bit.ly/2wXalqq

No. 24 Bulls Fall Late in Game 1 at Cincinnati

USF was tied, 6-6, in the eighth before a four-run frame became the difference
 

CINCINNATI, Ohio, May 17, 2018 – With the score tied, 6-6, in the eighth, Cincinnati scored four runs in the bottom half and went on to defeat the 24^th—ranked University of South Florida baseball team, 10-7, in Game 1 of the weekend’s three-game series.

The Bulls (30-18-1, 12-9-1 The American) used the long ball to take leads of 1-0 and 3-2 early off the bats of JD Dutka (Suwanee, Ga.) and then Tyler Dietrich (Naples, Fla.). But the Bearcats (28-24, 12-10 The American) answered in both the bottom half of the second and third, retaking the lead, 4-3, entering the fourth.

USF loaded the bases with no outs in the top half, but Cincy was able to escape the threat. The Bearcats added to the lead with a solo homer in the fifth and were cruising along with two outs and no one on base in the top of the seventh.

A Duke Stunkel Jr. (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) walk was followed by consecutive singles fromDavid Villar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and Joe Genord (Lake Worth, Fla.), making it 5-4. The Bulls then tied it on a high chopper up the middle off the bat of Dutka with the bases loaded, and everyone was safe with Villar scoring.

After Cincy again took the lead in the bottom of the seventh, 6-5, Coco Montes (Miami) blasted a two-out homer to again tie the game, 6-6, in the eighth.

The Bearcats put two men on with no outs in the bottom half, then a bunt to the mound was dropped perfectly, the throw to first sailed wide and allowed the go-ahead run to score. Later in the inning with the bases loaded, a triple cleared the bags, making it 10-6. 

Notables

-   Montes and Genord each went 2-for-5. Genord finished with two RBI and hit their third and 11^th homers of the year, respectively.

Up Next

The Bulls and Bearcats will conclude the series on Friday with a doubleheader set to begin at noon. Saturday’s game was moved due to expected rain.

 

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