Box Score TAMPA, APRIL 29, 2017 – The University of South Florida baseball team scored seven unanswered runs to erase a 4-0 deficit and even the series against No. 23 Houston with Saturday's 7-4 win.
The Cougars (28-14, 9-5 the American) scored twice in each of the first two innings to take a 4-0 lead. But the Bulls (33-10, 8-6 the American) got all four back in the third. Senior Luke Borders (Winter Haven, Fla.) hit a two-RBI single and sophomore Joe Genord (Lake Worth, Fla.) tied the action with a towering two-run homer.
USF took the lead for good with a run in the fourth, then added two more in the eighth. The bullpen was lights out and pitched the final 7.1 innings of scoreless baseball.
Key Stats
- Genord's home run was his team-leading seventh, as he went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBI. He reached base four times in the game.
- Junior Duke Stunkel Jr. (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) went 3-for-5 with a run scored.
- Borders went 2-for-4 with a run and his team-leading 41st RBI.
- The Naples boys of sophomores Tyler Dietrich (Naples, Fla.) and Garrett Zech (Naples, Fla.) had a combined three hits with two RBI for the former and a triple for the latter.
- Redshirt-senior Ryan Valdes (Tampa) pitched 4.1 innings and allowed just one hit while striking out six, as he earned the win.
- Junior Joe Cavallaro (Venice, Fla.) tossed the final 3.0 frames and was perfect. He struck out five and picked up his second save of the year.
Notables
- The Bulls clubbed 14 hits in the win, marking the 24th time they have recorded double-digit hits and 15th time they have tallied at least 13 hits.
- The win for Valdes marks his nation-leading ninth of the season.
- Sunday's matchup will be just the third rubber game of the season for the Bulls and the first during conference play. All three will have come at home, as USF won the first two.
Coach Kingston post-game interview.
Up Next
With the series on the line, USF and Houston play game three Sunday at 1:00 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.
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