AAC Tounament info:

[BrassBulls12]

AAC Tournament Bracket 

We play on Wednesday at 11AM against either Tulane or WSU. 

Edited May 19, 2018 by BrassBulls12

[BrassBulls12]

 

[Brad]

[Brad]

 

Don't forget the Facebook video presentation of the tournament if you wish to view:

 

[cophbulls]

And I will be there as well, maybe even as early as today, so if you need any video of me drinking beers out at the tiki hut, please let me know. 

[cophbulls]

And is it just me or do they have the dates wrong on that poster shot? 

[Brad]

USF ATHLETICS GoUSFBulls.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Web Link: https://bit.ly/2LjSHjA

 

SCHEDULE ALTERATIONS

The schedule for the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship has been adjusted due to projected inclement weather in the Tampa Bay area.

All of the games originally slated for Thursday, May 24, were moved to Wednesday, May 23. USF and Wichita St. were initially scheduled for an 11 a.m.start, but will kick off at 9 a.m. from Spectrum Field. The Bulls will play later in the day at 4 p.m., on either Spectrum Field or Robin Roberts Field depending on outcome, which is located in the complex adjacent to the main stadium. USF will face either the three seed UConn or the six seed Cincinnati at 4 p.m.

 

Matchups: 2^nd seed - USF (32-18-1, 14-9-1 The American) vs. 7^th seed – Wichita St. (34-19-1 9-14-1 The American) | TBD
Date: Wednesday, May 23

Times: 9 a.m. | 4 p.m.

Location: Clearwater, Fla. | Spectrum Field (8,500)
Follow: Stats | Listen | Watch
 

No. 24 Bulls Begin Conference Tourney against Shockers
USF earned the No. 2 seed, as Wichita St. enters as the No. 7 seed; the Bulls have won seven of their last 10 conference tournament openers 

 

TAMPA, May 22, 2018 – The No. 2 seed University of South Florida baseball team opens its American Athletic Championship run against No. 7 seed Wichita St. Wednesday at 9 a.m. in Clearwater.  

The Bulls (32-18-1, 14-9-1 The American) remained in at least one national poll for a fifth-straight week, as they sit at No. 24 according to Perfect Game. USF’s RPI is No. 22 following a series win at Cincinnati over the weekend. USF dropped the opening game on Thursday, then swept a Friday doubleheader to secure its sixth series win in conference play.

On Monday, the Bulls were honored by the league with six all-conference selections, their most since joining The American. Junior third baseman David Villar (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) was named to the first team. Senior outfielder Duke Stunkel Jr.(Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), senior pitcher Peter Strzelecki (Lake Worth Fla.), junior shortstop Coco Montes (Miami), junior first baseman Joe Genord(Lake Worth, Fla.) and junior closer Andrew Perez(Orlando) were all named to the second team. 

Stunkel Jr. was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll on Monday for a second-straight week after hitting .500 at Cincy with a homer, two doubles, and three RBI. Villar also hit .500 and finished the regular season second in the league with a .380 average. His 21 doubles led the conference and are tied for the eighth-most in a single season in program history. 

Redshirt sophomore All-American Shane McClanahan (Cape Coral, Fla.) will take the mound against the Shockers. He leads the conference with 111 strikeouts and sits tops in the country with 15.06 strikeouts per nine innings. McClanahan will be well rested, as his last start was on May 11 at Wichita St. 

SERIES HISTORY

The Bulls made their first trip to Wichita St. May 11-13, and the two sides split the three games. The Shockers are 4-1-1 against USF, having met in 2005 in Honolulu, Hawaii prior to this year. The first two contests were neutral site games in New Orleans. 

SCOUTING REPORT

The Shockers took 2-of-3 from Memphis over the weekend to jump ahead of Tulane for the No. 7 seed in the tournament. Wichita St. has second-best offense in the league behind the Bulls, led by a trio of all-conference selections. Luke Ritter and catcher Gunnar Troutwine were named to the first team, and preseason All-American third baseman Alec Bohm was named to the second team.

Ritter led the Shockers with a .341 average, followed by Bohm who hit .332 with 15 home runs, 56 runs and 52 RBI. Troutwine hit .318 during the regular season with 48 RBI and a team high 14 doubles.

Wichita St. will start Adam Keller on Wednesday. It will be his first start of the season. In 13 appearances out of the bullpen, Keller has a 0.98 ERA with 22 strikeouts and just one walk over 18.1 innings.  

NOTA-BULLS

·   Villar also has 12 home runs in addition to the 21 doubles, and the 33 extra-base hits are tied for third most in a single season in program history.

·   USF wrapped up the regular season tops in the country with 132 doubles and 2.59 doubles per game.

·   The Bulls are tops in The American with a .297 team average and a .468 slugging percentage. They are second in scoring at 6.4 runs per game. USF is second in The American with 527 hits.

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

·   Perez’s 11 saves are tied for the 10^th most in a single season in program history.

·   Genord hit his 12^th home run of the year while at Cincy, tying him for the team lead. A consistent threat to go deep, he leads the conference with 0.30 homers per game. 
 

 

[BrassBulls12]

 

[Brad]

USF ATHLETICS GoUSFBulls.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Web Link: https://bit.ly/2GJPfv4

Montes Shines in No. 24 USF's Opening-Game Loss at American Championship

Montes went 2-for-3 and drove in both of No. 24 USF's runs in a 4-2 loss to Wichita State on Wednesday.
 

CLEARWATER, Fla., May 23, 2018 – Coco Montes went 2-for-3 and drove in both of second-seeded USF's runs in a 4-2 loss to seventh-seeded Wichita State at the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship on Wednesday.

Montes (Miami) and Kyle Phillips (Orlando) accounted for four of No. 24 USF's seven total hits in the program's opening game of the tournament at Spectrum Field. USF (32-19-1) will play an elimination game 4 p.m. Wednesday against Cincinnati or UConn behind Spectrum Field at Robin Roberts Field.

Wichita State (35-19-1) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning and USF tied things up in the next frame with an RBI double by all-conference pick Montes.

The Shockers used a two-run double to take a 3-1 lead in the seventh before the Bulls cut into their deficit in the bottom half of the inning. Montes made Wichita State pay for a two-base error by roping an RBI single to right field.

Wichita State extended its lead to 4-2 in the eighth and USF ended up stranding seven runners after leaving the bases loaded in the first and fourth frames.

Ace Shane McClanahan (Cape Coral, Fla.) boosted the Bulls early, striking out six and surrendering one earned run in five innings.

Quotable
Head coach Billy Mohl's thoughts on the Bulls' opening game and next test at the conference tournament:
"It's the first time in a long time the offense kind of struggled a bit. But you know what, we've got another game this afternoon and they'll bounce back."

"We've been in the same situation. We've lost a lot of first games and came back and won the next two. It's nothing new to this club."

Key Stats 

7 – USF stranded seven runners after leaving the bags packed in the first and fourth innings.
4 – Coco Montes and Kyle Phillips combined to post four of USF's seven total hits.

Notables

• Duke Stunkel Jr. (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a single up the middle in the first inning.
• USF is ranked No. 24 in this week's Perfect Game poll. The Bulls have been in at least one national poll for five straight weeks.
• USF entered the game tied for the national lead with 132 doubles and got another from Coco Montes in the second inning.
• Montes ranks second on the team with 19 doubles this season.
• Shane McClanahan moved up to fourth on USF's single-season strikeout chart with 117. Jon Alexander owns the program record with 130 strikeouts in 1986.

Up Next

USF will face third-seeded UConn or sixth-seeded Cincinnati 4 p.m. Wednesday at Robin Roberts Field, located behind Spectrum Field.

All-conference selection Peter Strzelecki is slated to get the start. The senior right-hander from Lake Worth, Fla., is 8-3 this season with 90 strikeouts in 80.2 innings of work.

[Brad]

Game discussion thread is active on main board:

 

https://www.thebullspen.com/topic/125564-aac-tournament/