Champ Central
CLEARWATER, Fla. – Third baseman David Villar and leftfielder Chris Chatfield each homered while the duo accounted for five RBIs as No. 4-seeded USF scored the last four runs of the game in a 7-6 win against No. 5-seeded Tulane Tuesday afternoon in the first round of the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship at Spectrum Field.
USF (41-15) advances in the winners’ bracket to face either No. 8-seeded East Carolina or No. 1-seeded UCF Thursday at 7 p.m. ET. Tulane (27-30) will take on East Carolina or UCF in an elimination game Wednesday at noon.
Each team hit two round-trippers to tie the American Athletic Conference Championship single-game record for combined home runs. Tulane, which entered the postseason with a conference-leading 66 home runs, powered its way to a 6-3 lead with a two-run shot by Hunter Hope in the fourth inning and a three-run blast in the fifth by Jarret DeHart.
Chatfield’s three-run shot to the deepest part of the ballpark in centerfield tied the score at 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth, and the Bulls chipped away after the Green Wave had reclaimed the lead in the fifth. Villar’s solo shot to left closed the gap to 6-4 before he made it a one-run game with a base hit to center in the bottom of the sixth that brought home Kevin Merrell.
Duke Stunkel Jr. tied the score in the bottom of the eighth with a double down the leftfield line that brought home Merrell, who led off with an infield hit. Stunkel moved to third on a groundout and scored when Joe Genord’s grounder went through the third baseman to give the Bulls their only lead of the game.
Andrew Perez (6-2) was credited with the win in relief for USF after he worked two innings with three strikeouts. Joe Cavallaro pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his fifth save.
Eight of the nine starters had at least one hit for Tulane, but the Green Wave was not able to overcome nine walks and 10 hits allowed by its pitchers. Chase Solesky (5-3) took the loss.
Tickets for the championship will be available at Spectrum Field each day of the tournament or may be purchased in advance by calling the box office at 727-467-4457. The latest information on the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship is available on the conference’s Championship Central page at
www.TheAmerican.org/Baseball.