Daniel Cantu’s walk-off homer in the 11th inning gave the Bulls a 6-5 victory.
TAMPA (March 21, 2021) – Daniel Cantu’s first collegiate home run came in the form of an extra inning walk-off blast in the 11th inning on Sunday to seal a 6-5 triumph for the USF Bulls (9-8), and a series win over previously-ranked Florida Atlantic (10-8).
FAU was ranked No. 20 in D1Baseball Top 25 last week, and entered the three-game series with the Bulls receiving votes in the NCBWA and USA TODAY polls. The Owls won the series opener, 5-1, while USF took the final two games by scores of 4-0 and 6-5.
Cantu (Jacksonville) tallied the second walk-off homer for the Bulls this season in USF’s third total walk-off win.
Runs were limited early in the ballgame with both sides trying to secure a series victory. The Bulls and Owls combined for just three tallies over the first seven frames before the fireworks began late.
FAU broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning and padded its lead to 3-1 in the top of the eighth. As they have all season long though, the youthful Bulls showed their resiliency in the bottom of the eighth. Riley Hogan (Orlando), who also owns a walk-off winner this year, cut into the Owls’ lead with an RBI-single. Following a pitching change, Carmine Lane (Lake Placid) battled back from an 0-2 count to draw a walk and load the bases, and Roberto Peña (Caracas, Venezuela) cleared the bases with a three-run triple to give USF a 5-3 advantage.
The Owls refused to go down quietly themselves, plating a pair of runs in the top of the ninth to knot the score and inevitably send the game into extra innings.
Collin Sullivan (Randolph, Mass.) earned a no decision in a quality start on the mound for USF. The redshirt senior struck out a season-high 10 batters over 6.0 IP. Logan Lyle (Bartow) was the winning pitcher after tossing two scoreless innings in relief.
Quotable
Head coach Billy Mohl on the series win: “That’s a really good team over there, and I have a lot of respect for them. It was great to see our guys respond from being in a five-game skid and have success against a team like that.”
On Cantu’s walk-off: “He deserves that moment. He is one of the hardest working kids we have on this team. He puts in a lot of time and effort to get better, and I was really happy to see him have that moment.”
Notable
- Peña matched a season-high with three RBI and he shares the team lead with four multi-RBI games.
- Lane went 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored.
- Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) singled and walked twice to extend his streak of reaching base safely to 17 in a row.
- Jake Sullivan (Tampa) went 2-for-3 at the plate for the second straight game.
- Matt Ruiz (Hialeah) snapped a 0-for-7 slump with a 2-for-4 effort Sunday.
- The USF pitching staff struck out 15 batters, recording double digits for the 11th time this year.
Up Next
The Bulls wrap up their five-game homestand with a single game against North Florida on Tuesday, March 23 at 6 p.m. USF will then travel to No. 7 Texas Tech for a three-game series beginning Friday, March 26.
About USF Baseball
The USF Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and is entering its 56th season in 2021. The Bulls have won 1,628 games entering the 2021 season and made 13 NCAA Tournament appearances, including three since 2015. The Bulls have won four conference tournament titles (3 Sun Belt and 1 Metro) and had 126 all-conference selections. USF baseball players have been recognized with All-America honors 12 times, most recently with third baseman David Villar in 2018. Four players were selected in the 2018 MLB Draft, including the program’s fourth first round selection in pitcher Shane McClanahan, who appeared in the 2020 World Series with the Tampa Bay Rays. The Bulls saw continued success in head coach Billy Mohl’s first season in 2018, reaching 36 wins, advancing to the semifinals of the conference tournament for the first time since 2012, and making the program’s latest NCAA Tournament appearance while also achieving a ranking in multiple polls for the final two months of the season.
– #GoBulls –
