Bryce Archie, pitching in relief, earns his first career win
TAMPA, FL., MARCH 15, 2025 – University of South Florida baseball (8-8; 0-0 AAC) defeated Maryland (10-9; 1-2 Big Ten) 4-3 to even the three-game series at USF Baseball Stadium.
USF rode the arms of Bryce Archie and Brandon Keyster and the bat of Ryan Pruitt in the win. Pruitt had two hits, including a home run, and three RBI. Keyster and Archie combined to hold off the Maryland offense.
Archie (1-1), making his first relief appearance of the season, recorded his first career win. He came on in the fourth in relief of starter Brandon Keyster and pitched six innings, giving up one run on three hits and one walk. He struck out four and from the fourth through the seventh innings, he retired 11 straight batters, the most by a Bulls pitcher this season and the most of his career.
Lefthander Keyster made his first start of the season. He pitched three innings, giving up two runs, one earned, on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts. He stranded runners in each of the first three innings.
The Bulls used the long ball to take a 2-0 lead. USF struck first when Ryan Pruitt launched a homer to right to lead off the game for USF in the bottom of the first. It was Pruitt’s third home run and team-high 21st hit on the season. Matt Rose hit his first career home run in the bottom of the third to give the Bulls a two-run lead
Maryland struck back to tie the game in the top of the fourth. A leadoff single and double plated the first run. The tying run scored following a passed ball and sacrifice fly.
USF re-gained the lead, 4-2, with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. The Bulls loaded the bases with no outs. Marcus Brodil got things started with a leadoff single, then stole second. Patrick Murphy walked, and Carlos Jacome was hit by a pitch. Ryan Pruitt singled to deep center to score Brodil and Murphy. A sacrifice bunt by Matt Rose moved the runners up to second and third. A pop out and strikeout ended the inning, stranding the runners and limiting the Bulls to two runs.
In the top of the eighth, Maryland got one run back to make it 4-3 on two singles and a fielder’s choice. Archie retired the side in the ninth to seal the win.
Key Stats:
• The Bulls scored first for the seventh time this season and scored in the first inning for the fifth time
• USF has led at some point in 12 of their 16 games.
• The Bulls stole a base, bringing their season total to 30.
Notables:
• Ryan Pruitt hit his third home run of the season. He had two hits, three RBI and scored a run. He leads the team with 21 hits, a .356 avg, and six doubles. He is second on the team with 16 RBI and has reached base in 13 of the Bulls 16 games.
• Bryce Archie recorded his first career win in his first relief appearance of the season. Archie came on in the top of fourth, pitched six innings, giving up one run on three hits and one walk. He struck out four and, from the fourth through the seventh innings, he retired 11 straight batters, the most by a Bulls pitcher this season and the most of his career.
• Lefthander Brandon Keyster made his first start of the season. He pitched three innings, giving up two runs, one earned, on five hits with and walks with three strikeouts. He stranded runners in each of the first three innings.
• Matt Rose, who led the Bulls with two hits and scored a run in Friday’s game, hit his first career home run.
• Marcus Brodil had two hits and scored a run. He has reached base in 15 of the Bulls 16 games. Brodil is second on the team with 17 hits and a .321 avg.
Up Next:
USF and Maryland will meet in the series finale on Sunday, March 16 at 1:00 p.m. at the USF Baseball Stadium. The game can be seen on ESPN+ and heard on Bulls Unlimited 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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