Joaquin Monque and Eric Snow both homered in Tuesday’s 10-inning loss.
TAMPA (April 4, 2023) – The University of South Florida (12-18) entered Tuesday night ranked 52nd in the NCAA in fielding percentage, but four errors led to three unearned runs and the Bulls dropped a 5-4 decision to the UNF Ospreys (16-13) in 10 innings at USF Baseball Stadium.
South Florida trailed 4-3 heading to the bottom of the ninth inning when a one-out triple by Rafael Betancourt (Deltona) gave the Bulls life. The tying run eventually crossed the plate on a wild pitch to force extra innings.
In the top of the 10th, USF’s fourth defensive miscue of the night ultimately led to the fifth UNF run.
Trailing 5-4, the Bulls once again put up a fight in the bottom of the 10th.
Nelson Rivera (Toa Alto, Puerto Rico) led off the inning and was robbed of an extra-base hit at the warning track. With one out, Joaquin Monque (Weston) singled, and his pinch runner, Stanton Leuthner (New Providence, N.J.), moved into scoring position on a balk. A groundout moved Leuthner to third base with two outs.
Eric Snow (Forsyth, Ga.), who had already homered in the game in front of more than a dozen family members in attendance, stepped to the plate seeking his fourth hit of the evening with the tying run 90 feet away. Snow hit a high chopper to the UNF third baseman and after a headfirst slide at first base was called out on a bang-bang play that was reviewed and confirmed.
Monque hit his first home run of the season to give USF its only lead of the night, 1-0, in the bottom of the third inning. The Ospreys claimed a 3-1 lead in the top of the fourth with two of their runs being charged as unearned.
Snow’s home run in the bottom of the fourth made it a 3-2 ballgame and Bobby Boser (Wesley Chapel) tied the game with an infield single later in the frame.
UNF reclaimed a 4-3 lead in the top of the seventh inning before the Bulls rallied in the ninth.
Notable
- USF falls to 0-3 in extra innings this season.
- The Bulls’ four errors on Tuesday matched a season high.
- Snow has eight multi-hit games this season, including four with at least three hits. The freshman is batting .415 (10-for-41) with a pair of homers over his last 10 games.
- Lawson Gailey (Lavonia, Ga.) made his fourth consecutive midweek start and allowed three runs (one earned) on two hits over 4.0 IP in a no-decision. The freshman right-hander is 1-1 with a 2.20 ERA (4 ER/16.1 IP) over those four outings.
Up Next
The Bulls will host Tulane in a three-game AAC series in Tampa on April 6-8. First pitch on Thursday, April 6 is set for 6:30 p.m.
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.
– #GoBulls –
