Daniel Cantu hit a game-tying homer in the eighth, but the Bulls dropped Saturday’s game in 11 innings.
BOCA RATON (February 25, 2023) – The University of South Florida Bulls (3-4) had their two-game winning streak halted on Saturday with an 8-7 loss at FAU (5-1) in 11 innings. Daniel Cantu (Jacksonville) hit his second home run of the season to tie the game at 7-7 in the eighth inning before the Owls walked-off with the win in game two of the three-game weekend set.
South Florida was playing catchup most of the day, but erased a 4-0 deficit in the fourth inning and overcame a 7-4 FAU lead with Cantu’s homer in the eighth frame.
After tying the game in the eighth, the Bulls loaded the bases with one out in the ninth and put two on with no out in the 10th, but failed to plate the go-ahead run in either inning.
Jackson Cothren (Fayetteville, Tenn.) wiggled out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the ninth, but after a 1-2-3 inning in the 10th, the Owls got to him for the game-winning hit in the 11th inning.
FAU broke the scoring seal with a four-run third inning only to see USF answer back immediately and tie the game in the top of the fourth. Jackson Mayo (St. Johns) had an RBI-single and John Montes (Toa Alto, Puerto Rico) delivered a two-out two-run double to knot the score at 4-4.
The Owls went back in front, 5-4, in the fifth frame and extended their lead to 7-4 in the sixth inning. A sac fly by Ben Rozenblum (Coral Springs) and another RBI-single by Mayo cut the FAU lead to 7-6 in the seventh inning before Cantu’s longball tied the game again in the eighth.
Notable
- USF left 13 runners on base in the loss while FAU stranded 11 base runners.
- Bobby Boser (Wesley Chapel) went 2-for-5 with a pair of runs to extend his hitting streak to seven straight games to begin the season.
- Parker Seay (Williston) gave the Bulls a scoreless inning of relief in the bottom of the eighth after Cantu’s game-tying home run.
Up Next
The Bulls and Owls play the rubber match of their three-game series on Sunday, February 26 at 12 p.m. in Boca Raton.
About USF Baseball
The USF Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and is entering its 58th season in 2023 under head coach Billy Mohl (sixth season). The Bulls have made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, including four since 2015, and earned their first-ever Super Regional berth in 2021. USF was ranked in the Top 25 by five different publications in the final 2021 polls, checking in as high as No. 16. The Bulls have won five conference tournament titles (3 Sun Belt, 1 Metro and 1 American) and six regular season championships (3 Sun Belt, 2 Metro and 1 C-USA). USF baseball players have been recognized with All-America honors 12 times, most recently with third baseman David Villar in 2018, and 18 have earned Freshman All-America accolades, most recently Drew Brutcher and Carmine Lane in 2021. Four Bulls were selected in the 2022 MLB Draft. Former 2018 first-round selection, Shane McClanahan, became the program’s first-ever MLB All-Star in 2022 and was the starting pitcher for the American League.
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