Carson Ragsdale ties a career-high 10 strikeouts in Sunday’s, 2-1 loss to No. 1 Florida
GAINESVILLE (March 8, 2020) – The USF baseball team fell to No. 1 Florida in the series finale Sunday afternoon, 2-1.
Carson Ragsdale (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) kept the Bulls toe-to-toe with No. 1 Florida tossing another strong outing this season. The redshirt senior right-hander tied his career-high in strikeouts with 10 this afternoon. Ragsdale allowed two hits and one run through four innings.
The Bulls (5-10) fell behind in the bottom of the fourth inning to the No. 1 Gators (16-0), 1-0. Florida stole the lead from USF in the bottom of the eighth inning with a solo home run by Nathan Hickey.
The Bulls were able to tie the game in the top of the sixth inning. After Nick Gonzalez (Tampa, Fla.) would hit a lead-off single to left field, Carmine Lane (Lake Placid, Fla.) would move Gonzalez into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. JD Dutka (Suwanee, Ga.) would tie the game with an RBI double down the left field line to score Gonzalez.
Orion Kerkering (Venice, Fla.) suffered the loss on the hill for the Bulls allowing one run on one hit through 1.1 innings.
Notable
· Connor Churchill (Tampa, Fla.) recorded his fifth appearance out of the bullpen.
· Dylan Burns (Vero Beach, Fla.) tossed 1.2 innings of relief.
- Jordan Santos (Tampa, Fla.) drew two walks.
Up Next
The Bulls return home for back-to-back midweek games against Pittsburgh and Florida A&M, March 10-11.
About USF Baseball
The University of South Florida baseball program is one of the fastest rising programs in the country. The Bulls earned their third NCAA Regional berth in the last four seasons and had six all-conference selections in 2018. Four players were selected in the 2018 MLB Draft, including the program’s fourth first rounder, pitcher Shane McClanahan. Third baseman David Villar was taken in the 11th round after being named first team all-conference and an All-American. The Bulls reached the NCAA Regionals in 2015 for the first time in 13 years and followed that success with a 42-19 record and second NCAA regional trip in three years in 2017. The Bulls continued the success in head coach Billy Mohl first season in 2018, reaching 36 wins and advancing to the semifinals of the conference tournament for the first time since 2012, while being ranked in multiple polls for the final two months of the season. The USF Baseball program has won five conference titles and the Bulls have made 13 NCAA appearances.
– #GoBulls –
