Jack Cebert recorded his sixth career quality start in a 6-5 win on Saturday as the Bulls evened their weekend series with the Spartans.
TAMPA (March 16, 2024) – The University of South Florida Bulls (11-7) evened their weekend series with the UNC Greensboro Spartans (10-8) on Saturday afternoon at USF Baseball Stadium with a 6-5 victory behind a quality start from Jack Cebert (Tampa) and some clutch two-out hits.
UNCG took the series opener on Friday, 8-3, in a game that saw South Florida strand 15 runners on base. In Saturday’s matinee, four of the Bulls’ six runs came with timely two-out hits.
Jackson Mayo (St. John’s), Eric Snow (Forsyth, Ga.) and Ben Rozenblum (Coral Springs) each homered for USF, including a two-out, two-run homer by Rozenblum in the bottom of the sixth inning, which stood as the game-winning runs. Mayo and Snow belted back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning.
On the mound, Cebert (2-1) turned in his first quality start of the year and sixth of his career. The right-hander allowed two runs on four hits with four strikeouts over 6.0 IP. The two runs came in his final inning of work as he finished six innings for the first time this season as well.
Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) went 3-for-5 with a triple and an RBI-single in the second inning to put the Bulls on the board with two outs in the bottom of the second inning.
Brutcher’s single chased home Matthew Buffington (Andover, Kan.), who made his first USF start and recorded his first hit, a double, to open the second frame. Buffington tallied his first RBI in the bottom of the third inning with a two-out single to pad the Bulls’ lead to 2-0.
Chandler Dorsey (Lakeland) held strong in the bottom of the ninth inning to earn his second save of the season for the Bulls. Dorsey came on in relief of Kyle Scrape (Tampa), who struck out the side in the seventh, but walked the leadoff batter in the eighth. The Spartans tacked on one run in the top of the eighth and went on to add two more in the ninth after an infield single extended the final inning and led to a two-run double.
Notable
- Brutcher has reached base safely in all 18 games this season and raised his batting average to .379 on Saturday while continuing to lead the NCAA in walks (26).
- Buffington, Rozenblum and Snow each finished the day with two hits apiece.
- Scrape surrendered his first run of the season in his fifth outing (8.0 IP).
- The Bulls were without their leading hitter on Saturday, John Montes (shoulder) as injuries continue to pile up for team. Rafael Betancourt (foot) has been playing through his injury for the past two weeks and the reigning NCBWA National Hitter of the Week Bobby Boser (hand) is out an indefinite period of time – though there is a chance for his return late this season.
Up Next
The Bulls and Spartans conclude their weekend series on Sunday, March 17 at 1 p.m. in Tampa.
Double Play Passes, which include one ticket to every home baseball and softball game, can be purchased now for $99. Group and single game tickets are also on sale and can be purchased here or by calling 1-800-Go-Bulls.
About USF Baseball
The USF Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and is entering its 59th season in 2024 under head coach Billy Mohl (seventh 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 19 have earned Freshman All-America accolades, most recently Eric Snow in 2023. 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.
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