CLEARWATER, Fla. – Joe Genord, Chris Chatfield and Carson Ragsdale each hit a home run, as No. 2-seeded USF defeated No. 3-seeded UConn 13-0 in seven innings in semifinal action on Thursday afternoon in the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship presented by Visit St. Pete/Clearwater at Robin Roberts Field.
The Bulls and Huskies will meet again tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET and battle for a spot in the conference’s championship game at Spectrum Field.
The Bulls pummeled 13 hits and used two five-run surges in the third and sixth innings. Six USF batters had a multi-hit performance, while five drove in at least one run. Tyler Dietrich went 2-for-3 with four RBIs and two doubles. USF’s three home runs are the second-most hit in a single game in tournament history. The three wins in this year’s conference tournament are the most by a USF team, as the Bulls picked up their first American Championship semifinal win.
USF starter Alec Wisely struck out a career-high nine batters and pitched his first ever complete game shutout. He retired the side in order four times, struck out the side twice and retired the final 13 batters faced, while scattering five hits in the game. UConn’s pitching staff used four arms, as starter Colby Dunlop took the loss.
USF took an early lead, scoring two runs in the second inning. A wild pitch and throwing error allowed Garett Zech to cross home plate before Coco Montes blasted his fourth hit and second RBI of the day to extend the lead to 2-0.
Wisely retired the first five batters he faced, but the Huskies used back-to-back hits to threaten in the second inning. UConn’s Thad Phillips launched a deep fly ball to the warning track, as Chris Chatfield tracked it down and made the snag to keep the Huskies scoreless through two.
The Bulls surged in the third inning, punching five more runs across. Joe Genord sent his second home run of the tournament high over the left field fence. Dietrich and Montes plated three more runs with back-to-back RBI doubles to give USF a 7-0 lead.
After Wisely retired the side in order for the third time, Carson Ragsdale followed with the Bulls’ second homer of the day with a solo shot in fifth inning. USF tacked on the final five runs of the game in the top of the sixth inning. Chatfield hit a three-run home run to begin the rally, as Ragsdale and Dietrich each hit RBI doubles to collect their second hits of the game. Wisely struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh inning to secure the 13-0 runs-rule win.
The latest information on the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship is available on the conference’s Championship Central page at
www.TheAmerican.org/Baseball.
2018 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
presented by visit st. pete/clearwater
SPECTRUM field • clearwater, fla.
UPDATED TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Tuesday, May 22
Game 1 – No. 4 ECU 8, No. 5 UCF 4
Game 2 – No. 8 Tulane 11, No. 1 Houston 6
Wednesday, May 23
at Spectrum Field
Game 3 – No. 7 Wichita State 4, No. 2 USF 3
Game 4 – No. 3 UConn 6, No. 6 Cincinnati 2
Game 8 –UConn 7, Wichita State 5
at Robin Roberts Field
Game 5 – Houston 6, UCF 2 (UCF eliminated)
Game 7 – ECU 6, Tulane 5
Game 6 – USF 9, Cincinnati 4 (Cincinnati eliminated)
Thursday, May 24
at Spectrum Field (American Digital Network)
Game 9 – Houston 18, Tulane 7 (Tulane eliminated)
Game 11 – ECU (41-15) vs. Houston (34-22)
at Robin Roberts Field (American Digital Network)
Game 10 – USF 7, Wichita State 2 (Wichita State eliminated)
Game 12 – USF 13, UConn 0
Friday, May 25 (American Digital Network)
at Spectrum Field (American Digital Network)
Game 13 – UConn (34-19-1) vs. USF (34-19-1) 10 a.m.
at Robin Roberts Field (American Digital Network)
Game 14 – Loser of Game 12 vs. Winner of Game 12 (if necessary) 10 a.m.
TBD (ESPNews)
Game 15 – Semifinal winners TBD