The Bulls split a two-game midweek series with a 4-3 victory on Wednesday.
TAMPA (March 15, 2023) – The University of South Florida Bulls (6-12) bounced back from a disappointing 6-1 loss on Tuesday night to Dartmouth College (1-8) with a 4-3 victory over the Big Green in the midweek finale on Wednesday afternoon at USF Baseball Stadium.
John Montes (Toa Alto, Puerto Rico) went 3-for-5 and drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Jackson Cothren (Fayetteville, Tenn.) picked up his first win in a South Florida uniform and Riley Skeen (Pompano Beach) tallied his second save of the season to back freshman Lawson Gailey (Lavonia, Ga.) in his first collegiate start on the mound.
“Obviously it’s good to come out of here with a win today, but the biggest thing this team is struggling with right now is consistency,” said head coach Billy Mohl. “The offense has been scuffling for a couple of weeks now, and we need to do a better job with situational hitting. On the mound, the walks continue to be an issue for us.”
Dartmouth got out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning with a solo home run against Gailey. The freshman right-hander settled in from there, allowing just two more hits, and finished his outing with six strikeouts over 4.0 IP.
A one-out hustle-double by Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) kickstarted the USF offense in the fourth inning. Travis Sankovich (Uniontown, Pa.) followed with a single to move Brutcher to third base. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch with Brutcher crossing the plate to tie the game at 1-1. Nelson Rivera (Toa Alto, Puerto Rico) moved Sankovich 90 feet closer to home with a single and after making his collegiate debut on Tuesday night with three hits, Rafael Betancourt (Deltona) put the Bulls in front with a sacrifice fly and his first career RBI.
The Big Green knotted the score again at 2-2 in the fifth frame before the Bulls answered again in the sixth. Sankovich reached with a two-out single, Rivera followed with a single and Betancourt walked to load the bases. Stanton Leuthner was then called upon to pinch hit and was hit by the first pitch he saw to force in the go-ahead run.
Montes added a big insurance run which proved to be the game-winner with a two-out single in the bottom of the eighth.
A solo home run by Dartmouth in the top of the ninth inning gave the Big Green life and made it a 4-3 affair before Skeen recorded the final out of the ballgame.
Notable
- Brutcher has reached base safely in 14 straight games.
- Montes has hit safely in 10 of his last 13 games, including seven multi-hit efforts in that span.
- Caleb Pundsack (Groveland) gave the Bulls two perfect innings out of the bullpen and has not allowed a run over his last five appearances (6.0 IP).
- Bobby Boser (Wesley Chapel) missed the midweek series with a rib/back issue and is currently day-to-day.
Up Next
The Bulls welcome Army to Tampa for a three-game weekend series beginning on Friday, March 17 at 6:30 p.m.
About USF Baseball
The USF Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and is entering its 58th season in 2023 under head coach Billy Mohl (sixth season). The Bulls have made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, including four since 2015, and earned their first-ever Super Regional berth in 2021. USF was ranked in the Top 25 by five different publications in the final 2021 polls, checking in as high as No. 16. The Bulls have won five conference tournament titles (3 Sun Belt, 1 Metro and 1 American) and six regular season championships (3 Sun Belt, 2 Metro and 1 C-USA). USF baseball players have been recognized with All-America honors 12 times, most recently with third baseman David Villar in 2018, and 18 have earned Freshman All-America accolades, most recently Drew Brutcher and Carmine Lane in 2021. Four Bulls were selected in the 2022 MLB Draft. Former 2018 first-round selection, Shane McClanahan, became the program’s first-ever MLB All-Star in 2022 and was the starting pitcher for the American League.
– #GoBulls –
