Tampa, Fla. – (February 24, 2018) – USF's Tyler Dietrich went 4-for-4 and had a bases clearing double in the second inning to give the Bulls a 3-2 win over the Fordham Rams at USF Baseball Stadium on Saturday in Tampa, Fla.
With the loss, Fordham is now 3-2-1 on the year, while USF improved to 2-4.
All of the Bulls' offense came in the bottom of the second, as USF loaded the bases on three consecutive singles off Fordham starter
Reiss Knehr to start the inning. Knehr rebounded with a pop up and a strikeout for the first two outs of the inning, but Tyler Dietrich cleared the bases with a three-run double down the right field line for a 3-0 lead.
Fordham chipped away at deficit in the fourth inning, as
Matt Tarabek singled, stole second, and scored on an RBI-single by
Nick Labella.
The score remained at 3-1 until the ninth, when Fordham's
Jake MacKenzie connected on a solo home run to left center to make it 3-2. It was his second of the season.
Jake MacKenzie hit his 2nd home run on Saturday.
The Rams though could not get the tying run in the ninth, falling by a 3-2 final, as USF pitching held Fordham to eight hits and struck out 12 Ram batters.
For Fordham, Knehr (0-1) took the loss, allowing three runs on six hits over four innings with four strikeouts.
Brian Weissert continued his impressive start to 2018 with four shutout innings of relief, allowing four hits and one walk with three strikeouts.
At the plate, Tarabek was 2-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base, while
C.J. Vazquez was 2-for-3. Labella, MacKenzie,
Jake Baker and
Alvin Melendez split the remaining four hits with one each.
The rubber game of this three-game series is on Sunday at 1:00 PM.
