USF Baseball: Boser belts two more homers, Mayo hits walk-off blast

Jackson Mayo smashed a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth for an 8-7 win.

TAMPA (March 8, 2024) – The University of South Florida (8-5) never led on Friday night until Jackson Mayo’s walk-off home run landed beyond the center field fence as the Bulls defeated the North Carolina A&T Aggies (10-3) by a score of 8-7 to open a three-game series at USF Baseball Stadium.

South Florida trailed 1-0 after the first inning and 4-0 after the top of the second. The Bulls tied the game at 5-5 on a two-run homer by Bobby Boser (Wesley Chapel) in the fifth frame, but the Aggies immediately answered with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth. Boser belted his second home run of the night in the bottom of the eighth to make it a 7-6 affair and Mayo’s two-out, two-run shot seal USF’s comeback victory.

Boser has homered in three consecutive games and has five home runs to go along with 16 RBI over those ballgames. He recorded a two-homer game on Tuesday at UNF and followed that up with USF’s first cycle in over 20 years on Wednesday at Jacksonville.

On the mound, Joey Volini (Tampa) improved to 2-0 this year after he turned in 1.2 IP of scoreless work from the bullpen. Volini has made four appearances for the Bulls in his return from Tommy John that cost him the 2023 season.

Notable

  • Boser has now homered twice in a game five times in his career.
  • Boser now has 26 career home runs, just two shy of tying for 10th all-time in USF history.
  • The last Bull to homer in four straight games (program record) was Joe Genord in 2018.
  • Drew Brutcher (Lakeland), who entered the game leading the NCAA in walks (20), drew a base on balls in the ninth inning to extend the game ahead of Mayo’s walk-off.
  • Brutcher has reached base safely in all 13 games this season.
  • Mayo’s longball was the first walk-off homer since John Montes vs. Army on March 17, 2023.
  • The Bulls have won three straight games and four of their last five outings.

Up Next

The Bulls and Aggies meet again on Saturday, March 9 at 2 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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