TAMPA, MARCH 24, 2017 – The University of South Florida baseball team was very opportunistic, scoring more runs than hits, as the pitching was lights out in Friday's 11-1 win over Florida A&M University.

The Bulls (21-2) tallied a run first thanks to their leadoff man Garrett Zech (Naples, Fla.) and his great speed. The sophomore beat out an infield grounder to short, stole second and third then scored on a wild pitch.

USF tacked on a run in the third before the Rattlers (14-8) cut into the deficit with a solo blast to left in the fifth. But the Bulls blew the game open with an enormous seventh frame behind only three hits, as they batted around. The bases were loaded with no outs and senior Luke Borders (Winter Haven, Fla.) singled to center to bring home two, making it 5-1. After the bases were juiced again, a hit batter and a walk brought in two more.

Freshman Nick Cerelli (Tampa) led off the frame with a walk and drove in two more with two away thanks to a single with the bases still loaded, making it 9-1. Three more passed balls allowed a pair of runs to score before the inning culminated, as the Bulls plated eight on just three hits.  

Key Stats

·         Cerelli went 2-for-3 in his first career start with three runs scored and two RBI.

·         Zech went 1-for-2 with two runs and a walk.

·         Sophomore Coco Montes (Miami) went 2-for-4 with a run scored and Borders had two runs scored and three RBI despite picking up just one hit.

·         Senior righty Phoenix Sanders (Gainesville, Fla.) tossed 6.0 innings, allowing six hits and one earned with eight strikeouts.

·         The three bullpen arms pitched 3.0 scoreless frames of one-hit ball, as freshman Andres Perez (Miami) made his first career appearances, working a perfect ninth.

Notables

·         The Bulls clubbed double-digit hits (10) for the 16th time this season and double-digit runs for the sixth time.

·         Sanders improves his record to 4-0 on the year and Borders has now reached base safely in 22 of the 23 games this season.

Up Next

The Bulls and Rattlers play the middle game of this three-game set, with first pitch slated for 6:30 p.m.

About USF Baseball

The University of South Florida baseball team is one of the fastest rising programs in the country. Under the guidance of head coach Mark Kingston, the Bulls reached the NCAA Regionals in 2015 for the first time in 13 years and USF followed that success with a consensus Top 10 recruiting class. Five players from that recruiting class were everyday starters in 2016 including outfielder Chris Chatfield (Riverview, Fla.), who led the team in home runs, and catcher Joe Genord (Lake Worth, Fla.), who was named the 2016 PGCBL Player of the Year. The Bulls won series from two ranked teams in 2016 (No. 21 East Carolina, No. 25 Michigan State, began the 2017 season with a series win over Iowa and earned just it's second win over a top-five team with a 4-2 victory against No. 3 Florida State on Feb. 21. The win over FSU was part of the best start in program history thanks to a 19-game winning streak, the second-longest in USF Baseball records.

The USF Baseball program has won five conference titles and the Bulls have made 11 NCAA appearances. Follow the baseball team on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram), visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information, and purchase tickets for upcoming games at USFBullsTix.com. For tickets, contact the USF Ticket Office at 1-800-Go-Bulls or by going online to USFBullsTix.com.

– #GoBulls –