Bulls get a strong start from James Hill; have now scored 22 runs in two games in Georgia
STATESBORO, GA., FEB. 22, 2025 – University of South Florida baseball (4-2; 0-0 AAC) claimed their second series of the young season and their first road excursion, posting a 13-5 victory over Georgia Southern (3-3; 0-0 Sun Belt) Saturday at J.I. Clements Stadium in Statesboro, Ga.
The Bulls claimed the opening game of the series 9-1 on Friday. The three-game stand concludes Sunday with a 1:00 p.m. first pitch on ESPN+.
USF scored 13 runs on 13 hits with six Bulls posting RBI and has now logged 22 runs in two games in Georgia.
Right-hander James Hill got his first win of the season after a strong outing in which he gave up just one hit and faced just two more batters than the minimum through four innings. He left in the fifth with a 6-2 lead after completing 4.2 innings and giving up two hits.
The Bulls continued a trend of scoring first in series play, this time logging four runs in the top of the second, a day after sending five across in the fourth to mark their fifth-straight series game scoring first.
Rafael Betancourt and Jackson Mayo singled to start the second inning and Carter Murphy walked to load the bases. Ryan Pruitt and Sebastian Greico each drove in runs with fly outs to right, Pruitt’s nearly leaving the yard. Matt Rose walked and then Bradke Lohry drove a ball deep to left. The leftfielder miss-played the ball over his head near the warning track and Rose and Murphy scored as Lohry cruised into the third on the error.
USF chased the Eagles’ starter in the third and extended its lead when Lance Trippel scored with a headfirst slide at home on a wild pitch from reliever Brady Pendley. Trippel had walked to start the inning and advanced to third on a Bentancourt double to center. Mayo singled through the right side to score Bentancourt and make it 6-0.
Georgia Southern got on the board in the bottom half of the third when Josh Tate tripled into the left field corner to score JD Kaiser who reached base after being hit by a pitch to start the inning.
The Eagles made it 6-2 in the fifth when Daniel Haab launched a solo homer to left and plated three runs in the sixth on Bulls reliever Landen Yorek as GSU used a pair of sacrifice flies and an RBI double to close the margin to 6-5.
USF answered with five runs in the eighth. Greico drove in Pruitt, who doubled to start the inning, and advanced to second on an error and third on a wild pitch. Rose singled to right to drive in Greico and make it 8-5. Trippel ripped a 2-1 pitch off the right center wall to drive in Rose and Lohry, who had walked. Marcus Brodil, who had walked and advanced to second on Trippel’s RBI single, then stole third and scored when the catcher’s throw went into left field, making it 11-5.
USF added two more in the ninth as Pruitt and Greico both doubled, Pruitt scoring on Greico’s drive to left, and Lohry singled in Greico.
Key Stats:
• Starter James Hill pitched 4.2 innings and gave up two hits and two runs for his first win of the season. He gave up just one hit and faced 14 batters through four innings.
• The Bulls manufactured six runs on just four hits in the first five innings before exploding for seven runs in the final two innings and finishing with 13 runs on 13 hits.
• Six Bulls drove in runs, including the 7, 8 and 9 hitters collecting six hits and five RBI.
Notables:
• USF has scored 22 runs in the first two games in Statesboro.
• Sebastian Greico went 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored.
• Lance Trippel went 2-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored a day after he hit his first home run of the season with a ninth-inning, two-run shot on Friday.
• The Bulls have taken the early lead in all five of their series games thus far on the year, including a 4-0 lead in the second Saturday and 5-0 lead in the fourth on Friday.
Up Next:
The Bulls and Eagles complete the series Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch on ESPN+. The Bulls return to the USF Baseball Stadium on Tuesday for a 6:00 p.m. clash with FIU.
Tickets:
Tickets to watch Bulls baseball at the USF Baseball Stadium may be purchased by calling 1-800-GoBulls or clicking HERE.
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About USF Baseball
The South Florida Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and will enter its 60th campaign in 2025. Mitch Hannahs was named South Florida’s eighth head coach in program history on June 8, 2024, after compiling 355 wins over 11 seasons at Indiana State. The 2023 ABCA NCAA DI Midwest Region Coach of the Year guided the Sycamores to six conference titles and five NCAA Regionals. The Bulls have made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances and earned their first-ever Super Regional berth in 2021. 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 and 19 Bulls have earned Freshman All-America accolades. USF has had 131 MLB Draft Picks. Former 2018 first-round draft pick, Shane McClanahan, is a two-time MLB All-Star.
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