Seventh-inning rally propels Bulls to victory against Dartmouth

Noah Yager threw six strikeouts in five innings to hold off Dartmouth's offense Sunday. ORACLE PHOTO/JOSÉE WOBLE

USF baseball recorded its second sweep of the season against Dartmouth after defeating the Big Green 4-1 on Sunday at the USF Baseball Stadium.

A seventh-inning rally helped lead the Bulls to their Sunday sweep. With the bases loaded and one out, Jordan Santos stepped up to the plate.

On the first pitch he saw, Santos singled to right field, sending Alex Bello and Tyler Dietrich home for a two-run RBI.

“We just kept battling back,” coach Billy Mohl said. “Santos with the big hit kind of blew it up out there.”

The Bulls had to battle back because they gave up an early run in the first inning, and then also failed to tally their first hit of the game until the sixth inning.

“It’s kind of been the story of the year so far,” Mohl said. “Late in the game, our guys find a spark.”

In addition to the late offensive performance, USF’s bullpen combined for eight strikeouts, giving the Bulls a chance to secure the series win.

Junior Ben Koff made his first start of the season. He pitched four innings, giving up five hits while striking out two.

“He knocked some rust off early,” Mohl said. “He kind of struggled with some feel of the strike zone. He didn’t walk anybody but he’s working his way back right now.”

After throwing 57 pitches through four innings, Noah Yager headed to the mound in the fifth inning. Yager missed the first few weeks of the season due to an arm injury, but that didn’t stop him from performing well enough to close out the game for the Bulls.

“I’m glad we have him back,” Mohl said. “He’s a guy that has plus command of all three pitches. You saw that today – not a single walk. He was really good for us today.”

The Bulls never allowed a walk Sunday and held Dartmouth to five runs in 27 innings this series.