March 17, 2011
Final Stats
Call Baseball Contact Michael Stambaugh for more details - 386.481.2278
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Wildcats opened the four-game series with South Florida at a high point, Thursday night, defeating the Bulls 4-3. Coming off three straight losses, the Wildcats played a complete came in all phases to top the Big East foe, and do justice to the 65th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's first Spring Training game in the very park it was played. B-CU scored at just the right time and kept USF from capitalizing on opportunities for the big home victory.
"The key was timely hitting," said Head Coach Mervyl Melendez. "We didn't get a lot of base hits, but we got them when it counted."
Offensively, the Wildcats only collected six hits on the night, but converted for four runs, starting with Peter O'Brien's first inning double batting in DJ Leonard.
The Wildcats again tacked a pair on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth when second baseman Paul Biocic tripled to deep left center for two RBI.
Peter O'Brien's wrapped up B-CU's scoring effort in the fifth with a sacrifice fly that again sent Leonard across the plate.
B-CU's pitching staff put in the work tonight, allowing just two earned runs, set off by Joseph Muñoz came in to collect the save and finish off the final batter and secure the 4-3 victory.
The Bulls made it a little tighter in the ninth, putting out a home run to bring it to a one-run game, but the Wildcat defense and bullpen shut down the rally quickly.
"Our pitching did an outstanding job throwing strikes," said Melendez. "When you see all zeros in the walk column, that's a huge factor in the ball game. They're a good baseball team, but we didn't allow extra base runners."
O'Brien and Biocic each went 1-3 with 2 RBI to lead the Wildcats. Leonard went 2-4 and picked up two runs in the victory.
"We had two great practices the last couple of days." Melendez noted of the team's energy against USF. "I was very, very happy with the intensity of the practices and it carried over in the way we played tonight; this is a team win."
The Wildcats (9-10) continue the four-game stretch with USF (7-10) tomorrow at Jackie Robinson Ballpark at 6:00 p.m. The series will carry over into the weekend with two games in Tampa on Saturday and Sunday.
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