USF 17 Umass 2 in Game 1!

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Offense Sparks Second-Straight Lopsided Victory As USF Wins 17-2 Over UMass

Final stats (pdf)

TAMPA, Fla. (Friday, March 10) – For the second-straight contest, the University of South Florida’s offense powered the Bulls (6-9) to a lopsided victory, defeating the UMass Minutemen (0-1), 17-2, on Friday, March 10 at Red McEwen Field. Producing 17 hits versus UMass, USF scored 10 runs in the bottom of the seventh to lead the Bulls to its most dominant victory of the season.

Five hitters recorded two-or-more hits for the Bulls. Freshman Addison Maruszak led the way, going 3-for-4 with three RBI and a career-high three runs scored. Junior Ty Taborelli hit 3-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored while right-fielder Joey Angelberger went 2-for-3 with a run scored and three RBI. Sophomore Brandin Daniel produced a season-best 2-for-3 from the plate, scoring three runs and bringing one in. Red-shirt freshman Joel Cardieri tallied his first-career hit in the contest with a single in the bottom of the eighth.

UMass was led by Bill Rankin, who went 1-for-3, including a triple, an RBI and a run scored. Ryan Franczek drove in the Minutemen’s other run, hitting 1-for-4 on the night.

Junior Casey Hudspeth earned his second win of the season, striking out eight Minutemen while allowing no runs. The right-hander scattered three hits over seven innings to improve his season ERA to 3.64. Hudspeth recorded his 200th-career strikeout with a K in the fourth inning. The Sarasota, Fla., native got Bryan Adamski to strike out looking, becoming the 13th player in USF history to register 200 strikeouts.

Raymon Garcia and A.J. Highsmith combined for two innings of relief to close out the game. Garcia allowed two runs on three hits in an inning of action while Highsmith pitched one inning of hitless relief in only his second outing of the season.

UMass hurler Chris Lloyd suffered loss, allowing three runs on three hits in four and one-third innings versus USF. On the night, Lloyd walked six batters while registering three Ks.

USF took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third. The Bulls’ first run came on a walk of Maruszak with bases loaded, scoring Daniel from third. Kris Howell drove in USF’s second run with a single to left field with the bases loaded, scoring Gus Fernandez.

The Bulls extended their lead with an RBI single by Joey Angelberger in the bottom of the fifth. Maruszak scored from second on the hit, giving USF a 3-0 advantage.

A two-RBI double by Taborelli in the bottom of the sixth to put USF ahead, 5-0. With runners on second and third, Taborelli drove a shot over the left fielder that cleared the bases to extend USF’s lead to five runs.

Angelberger drove in two more runs with a two-RBI single in the bottom of the seventh. With the bases loaded and no outs, Angelberger hit a single to left-center field, scoring Maruszak and Josh LeRoy. The two-run hit sparked a 10-run inning which increased USF’s lead to 15-0.

UMass got on the board in the top of the eight. Rankin, who drove in the team’s first run of the game with a triple to right-center field, scored the team’s second run on a ground out by Franczek. The two runs cut USF’s lead to 15-2.

The Bulls added two runs in the bottom of the ninth to regain a 15-run lead. Brett Boggs drove in Carlos Armstrong followed by a sacrifice fly by Taborelli, scoring J. Cardieri from third to make the score 17-2.

The win marked the second blow-out victory for the Bulls and the third-straight contest in which USF registered 10-or-more hits.

USF will continue its three-game series with UMass on Saturday, March 11. Slated to start for the Bulls will be sophomore Daniel Thomas. Right-handed pitcher Rory McDonald is projected to take the mound for the Minutemen. First pitch for Game Two is scheduled for 1 p.m

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