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South Florida Baseball Comes On Strong To Beat UCF And Claim War-On-I-4 Series

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Baseball

After a shaky start to the weekend, the University of South Florida (25-22, 6-12 AAC) bounced back for two straight wins to claim the War On I-4 series over UCF (28-19, 11-7 AAC) with a 3-1 triumph on Sunday afternoon at USF Baseball Stadium.

South Florida dropped Friday's contest, 10-4, but rallied late in that game, and carried that momentum, coupled with dominate pitching over the final two contests to pick the series win. The Bulls allowed just two UCF runs over the course of Saturday and Sunday's victories.

On Sunday, the southpaw trio of Joseph Sanchez (Miami), Joey Volini (Tampa) and Nolan Hudi (Safety Harbor) blanked the Knights over 6.1 IP with nine strikeouts. Volini, a freshman, picked up his first career win on the mound and Hudi nailed down his first save of the season.

A two-out walk by Nelson Rivera (Tao Alto, Puerto Rico) was the spark to break the scoring seal in the bottom of the second inning. Marcus Brodil (Dunedin) extended the frame with a single and Rivera ultimately came around to score on a wild pitch.

Another free pass got the Bulls going again in the seventh inning. Keanu Jacobs-Guishard (Philipsburg, St. Maarten) walked to lead off the frame and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Daniel Cantu (Jacksonville). Jarrett Eaton (Mobile, Ala.), who has a knack for timely hits, came through in the clutch again with an RBI-single to stretch the USF lead to 2-0.

UCF broke the shutout bid with a solo homer in the top of the eighth, but the Bulls answered with another insurance run in the bottom of the inning with some more small ball.

Nick Gonzalez (Tampa) singled to lead off the frame, Rivera followed with a walk and Brodil loaded the bases with a perfectly placed bunt single. Jacobs-Guishard chased home Gonzalez on a fielder's choice to make it a 3-1 affair, and Hudi returned for his second inning of work to close out the win in the ninth.

Notable

  • Sunday was the Bulls' annual Cut for the Cure Game where players and coaches shaved their heads following the contest in conjunction with Vs. Cancer. USF has fundraised over $19,000 for the organization this year and over $120,000 since head coach Billy Mohl arrived in 2014.
  • Sanchez turned in his second start of 3.0 scoreless IP this season.
  • Volini's 2.2 IP and three strikeouts are new career highs. The left-hander hasn't allowed an earned run over his last three appearances (5.1 IP).
  • Eaton hit .417 (5-12) with three extra-base hits and four RBI over the three-game series.
  • Brodil finished the day 3-for-4 for his fifth three-hit game this year.
  • Gonzalez went 2-for-3 and is batting .379 (11-29) over his last nine games.  

Up Next

The Bulls will begin a four-game road trip on Tuesday with a non-conference game at Stetson. USF will then travel to ECU for a three-game set beginning on Friday, May 13.