Bulls generated 30 runs in three games at Georgia Southern
STATESBORO, GA., FEB. 23, 2025 – A big comeback victory bid ended with a close 11th-inning call Sunday as the University of South Florida baseball (4-3; 0-0 AAC) fell 9-8 in an extra-innings battle with Georgia Southern (4-3; 0-0 Sun Belt) at J.I. Clements Stadium in Statesboro, Ga.
The Eagles held the Bulls hitless through five innings on Sunday as they built a 5-0 lead and chased USF starter Jorge Cardenas early in the third. But, as they did on Saturday, the Bulls bats got hot late, finishing with 11 hits that produced three-run innings in the sixth and the eighth and two runs in the 11th to take an 8-6 lead and set up a potential comeback win and series sweep.
However, the Eagles loaded the bases in the bottom of the 11th when shortstop Bradke Lohry was charged with an error on a throw to get the lead runner at third. The Eagles made it 8-7 when Sean White drew a walk off Bulls’ pitcher Lex Sanchez. Sanchez then fielded a bunt and flipped home to Lance Trippel. On a very close play, the runner was called safe. After a lengthy officials review, the play stood, tying the score at 8.
Sanchez struck out the next batter, but the Eagles took the win when Daniel Haab drew a walk to bring the winning run across.
The Bulls sent eight pitchers to the mound and the Eagles five as the teams combined for 23 hits. Matt Rose, hitting ninth for the Bulls, went 3-for-5 with a double and drove in three runs.
Georgia Southern jumped on top with a leadoff solo blast over the right-center wall by JD Kaiser in the second. They added another run in the third before the Bulls went to the pen with one out and one on, bringing in right-hander Matt Brown. Brown got an out before GSU’s Sean Smith sent a long ball over the left-field wall to make it 4-0.
Noland Bernard took the mound for the Bulls in the fifth and the Eagles increased their lead to 5-0 using a walk, sacrifice bunt and a single.
The Bulls broke through with three runs in the sixth as Rose laced a single to center that scored Jackson Mayo and Carter Murphy who had reached on a walk and hit-by-pitch, respectively. Bradke Lohry then singled to drive in Marcus Brodil, who singled earlier in the inning, to make it 5-3.
USF left-hander Brandon Keyster navigated a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh, coaxing a ground out to keep the Bulls within two runs.
Murphy led off the eighth with a double and Greico followed taking a 3-1 pitch deep over the centerfield wall to tie the game at 5. Rose doubled down the right field line and advanced to third on a passed ball. Lohry ripped his third-straight hit into right scoring Rose to give the Bulls their first lead, 6-5.
Georgia Southern came back in the bottom half of the eighth, capitalizing on a throwing error on Keyster on a bunt that put runners on second and third with no outs. The Bulls went to Evan Koehler in the pen. He hit the first batter he faced to load the bases and was replaced by Jack Nedrow. Nedrow struck out the first batter he faced. The second drove the ball to deep right to tie the game at 6-6 on the sacrifice fly before Nedrow got out of the inning with another flyout.
Mayo walked to lead off the 11th. He moved to second when Greico hit a high fly to short left that the Eagles couldn’t handle. Brodil drove Mayo in with a line drive to the left side and Rose followed with a single to score Greico and make it 8-6 Bulls.
Key Stats:
• The Bulls got their first hit in the top of the sixth and finished with 11 on the day, using three-run innings in the sixth and eighth and two runs in the 11th to take leads.
• Eight Bulls took the mound on the day, including Jack Nedrow who entered in the eighth and pitched 3.1 innings, giving up no runs and three hits.
• The Bulls 7, 8 and 9 hitters hit well for a second-straight day – collecting seven hits and six RBI a day after logging six hits and five RBI.
Notables:
• The 11-inning game was the Bulls’ longest since a 7-6 loss in 13 innings at No. 16 Florida State on March 1, 2023.
• USF road series win at Georgia Southern marked just the seventh road non-conference series win in program history and the first since winning 2-of-3 at Miami in 2002.
• USF logged 35 hits on the series while scoring 30 runs.
Up Next:
The Bulls return to the USF Baseball Stadium on Tuesday for a 6:00 p.m. clash with FIU. The game can be watched on ESPN+ and heard on Bulls Unlimited digital radio.
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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