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Villar, Genord Lift USF Baseball to 9-4 Win Over Hartford in Elimination Game

Just three more wins to go..

By Nathan Bond
Steve Simoneau

USF baseball’s five-run 11th inning helped stave off elimination from the DeLand Regional for one more day as the Bulls defeated and eliminated Hartford, 9-4, Saturday afternoon.

Third baseman David Villar singled home OF Garrett Zech and C Tyler Dietrich after they reached on walks to begin the 11th inning. 1B Joe Genord put the game away for good three pitches later when he sent an 0-2 pitch over the left field wall for a three-run home run.

The Bulls nearly had the game wrapped up in the ninth inning, but Villar and Genord couldn’t complete the 27th out when Villar’s throw was errant and Nick Campana scored from second after leading off the inning with a single.

USF closer Andrew Perez was able to shake it off and went on to pitch three more innings to get the win. He threw 69 pitches over the final four frames and struck out three. He’ll likely be unavailable until Monday if the Bulls need him.

Starting pitcher Shane McClanahan struggled once again with control and command. He went just five innings, gave up five hits, two runs, hit two batters, walked four and struck out three. He didn’t record a strikeout after the first inning.

His stock has fallen steadily in the lead up to the MLB Draft which takes place on Monday. He’ll still be a first rounder, but scouts I’ve spoken with say he’ll be a reliever at the next level.

The last time the Bulls didn’t win at least one game in the conference or NCAA tournament was in the Big East conference tournament in 2006 (I was a freshman in high school).

The last time USF didn’t win a game in the NCAA tournament was 1995 (I was still living in Ireland).

Notables:

  • Joe Genord’s 16th HR of the season places him tied for 7th all-time for a single season with Chris Heintz (1996). He’s 6th all-time with 31 career home runs.
  • SS Coco Montes went 2-for-4 with three runs, including a game-opening home run.
  • Villar went 2-for-5 with three RBI’s
  • RHP Carson Ragsdale threw his second consecutive scoreless inning of relief in the tournament.