The Bulls overcame a six-run deficit on Friday night.
TAMPA (March 17, 2023) – John Montes (Toa Alto, Puerto Rico) demolished the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the ninth inning on Friday night for a walk-off home run as the University of South Florida Bulls (7-12) overcame a six-run deficit for an 8-7 victory over Army West Point (6-9) at USF Baseball Stadium.
South Florida trailed Army, 7-1, heading to the bottom of the sixth inning before the Bulls’ offense came alive for their fourth comeback win of the season.
Bobby Boser (Wesley Chapel), who missed the previous two games with a back/rib injury, sparked the rally with a two-out triple in the sixth inning. Daniel Cantu (Jacksonville) followed with a two-run homer to make it a 7-3 ballgame. Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) and Ben Rozenblum (Coral Springs) extended the inning with singles, and Travis Sankovich (Uniontown, Pa.) followed with USF’s fifth straight hit to make it a 7-4 affair.
Cantu came up clutch again in the bottom of the seventh with a two-out two-run double to cut Army’s lead to 7-6. Eric Snow (Forsyth, Ga.) tied the game in the eighth on a fielder’s choice that saw Rozenblum beat a throw to the plate with a headfirst slide. Montes led off the ninth and jumped on the first pitch of the inning for the walk-off blast as the Bulls scored seven unanswered runs in the comeback victory.
On the mound, Ethan Brown (Winter Garden) made his second consecutive Friday night start and turned in a gritty outing. USF is currently playing a stretch of eight games in nine days and Brown delivered 5.2 IP. The southpaw allowed seven runs (five earned) on eight hits with six strikeouts, but was a victim of some defensive miscues and one official error.
Freshman Corban Little (Lakeland) made his first collegiate appearance on the hill, while Austin Grause (Tampa) and Chandler Dorsey (Lakeland) also worked scoreless outings from the bullpen. The trio combined to allow just three hits over 3.1 IP.
Notable
- Montes’ walk-off homer was the first since Brutcher hit one against Wichita State on May 21, 2022.
- Saturday was USF’s largest comeback win of the season, surpassing the five-run deficit the Bulls overcame at No. 7 Florida on February 22, 2023.
- Brutcher has reached base safely in 15 consecutive games for the Bulls.
- Cantu finished the night 2-for-4 with a HBP and four RBI.
Up Next
The Bulls and Black Knights will continue their three-game weekend series on Saturday, March 18 at 10 a.m. First pitch has been moved up from its originally scheduled time due to rain forecast on Saturday.
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 –
