Bulls Comeback to Beat JU 6-5

[Brad]

Courtesy USF SID

Bulls Score Four Runs In The Eighth To Earn 6-5 Come-From-Behind Victory Over Jacksonville

TAMPA, Fla. (Feb. 18, 2007) – The University of South Florida baseball team scored four runs off of two hits in the bottom of the eighth to earn the 6-5 victory over Jacksonville Sunday afternoon at Red McEwen Field.

Sophomore catcher Braulio Pardo blasted two hits, increasing his season batting average to .619 with 13 hits in 21 at bats, and tallied his eighth RBI and fourth run of the season in the third game against the Dolphins.  

Freshman reliever Shawn Sanford came into the game in the fourth inning, striking out three of his 16 batters faced in 4.1 innings of work after junior starter Chris Delaney struck out four in three innings pitched.  

USF opens the 2007 season 6-0 for only the second time in school history, along with the 1982 and 1974 seasons. In 1982 the Bulls went 45-13, won the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and made an NCAA Tournament appearance. USF ended the 1974 season with a 3-13 skid to conclude the year 21-16-1.  

In the third game of the USF-JU series, the Dolphins struck first, but four runs in the bottom of the eighth allowed USF to edge JU and earn the three-game sweep over the Atlantic Sun Conference team. The all-time series with JU is now tied at 49 all.  

In Sunday’s first two innings, Delaney, a right-handed pitcher, struck out three Dolphins, but Jacksonville managed two runs off of three hits to take the early 2-0 lead.

The Bulls cut the lead in half in the second as juniors Brandin Daniel and Joey Angelberger each drew walks, setting up sophomore Braulio Pardo’s 12th hit and eighth RBI of the season.  

Jacksonville regained the two-run lead in the third, but a USF base hit from senior Ty Taborelli scored junior Walter Diaz, who had singled up the middle earlier in the inning.  

After four scoreless innings, the Dolphins recorded two runs off of two hits, gaining the 5-2 lead in the eighth.  

In the bottom of the eighth, USF loaded the bases with three hit batsmen (Addison Maruszak, Daniel, Angelberger). Junior Charles Cleveland reached base on a fielder’s choice, and gained USF’s first RBI of the inning. Pardo singled up the middle, setting up a sacrifice bunt from sophomore Mike Consolmagno, which scored Angelberger.  

After a Diaz walk, junior Dexter Butler singled up the middle to bring in two Bulls, Pardo and Cleveland, and put USF ahead for the first and final time in the game.  

Senior right hander Yuri Higgins picked up the save for the Bulls, forcing the Dolphins into a fly ball to center field, then striking out the final two JU players for the 6-5 USF victory.  

The Bulls next travel to DeLand, Fla., on Feb. 20 to play Stetson at 7 p.m. before returning to Red McEwen Field Feb. 23-25 to host Manhattan College. The Bulls and Jaspers take the field at 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, then at noon on Sunday.