Bobby Boser tallied his third two-homer game of the season on Saturday.
HOUSTON, Texas (April 15, 2023) – The Bulls and Cougars each blasted four home runs on Saturday afternoon at Schroeder Park, but for the second straight game, the University of Houston (20-15, 6-2 AAC) outlasted the University of South Florida (15-21, 4-4 AAC), 16-10.
Sophomore Bobby Boser (Wesley Chapel) homered twice in the loss, tallying his third two-home run game of the season and second in the last three games. Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) circled the bases for the second straight game, while Daniel Cantu (Jacksonville) tallied his ninth long ball of the season to set a new career high.
The Cougars took the first lead of the afternoon on a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning. South Florida responded with back-to-back home runs by Brutcher and Boser in the top of the second to quickly tie the game at 2-2.
Houston answered with five runs in the bottom of the second inning to reclaim the lead for good and the Cougars’ lead swelled to 8-2 after three innings of play.
The Bulls got one run back in the top of the fourth, and had their chances to continue to chip away in the middle frames, but hit into inning-ending double plays in the fourth, fifth and sixth.
Cantu’s two-run homer in the top of the seventh inning cut the USF deficit to 11-5, but the home team answered right back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame.
The Bulls pushed three more runs across in the top of the eighth to make it a 13-8 affair, only to see the home team respond with three runs in the bottom half of the inning.
Boser’s two-run blast in the top of the ninth accounted for the final score.
Hunter Mink (Palm Harbor) had his streak of four consecutive quality starts snapped. The right-hander was charged with a career-high 10 runs on 10 hits with three walks over 2.1 IP. Mink had only allowed one earned run over his last three combined starts.
Notable
- Cantu has reached base in a season-high 18-straight ballgames. He is batting .380 (27-for-71) with 10 doubles, six home runs and 24 RBI over that span.
- Brutcher and Boser are each riding nine-game hitting streaks.
- Brutcher is batting .563 (9-for-17) with three doubles, two homers and eight RBI over his last five games.
- Boser is batting .412 (14-for-34) with three doubles, four homes runs and 10 RBI over his last 10 games.
Up Next
The Bulls and Cougars wrap up their three-game weekend series in Houston on Sunday, April 16 at 2 p.m. ET. Jack Cebert (Tampa) will take the mound for USF looking to salvage the series finale.
About USF Baseball
The USF Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and is entering its 58th season in 2023 under head coach Billy Mohl (sixth 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 18 have earned Freshman All-America accolades, most recently Drew Brutcher and Carmine Lane in 2021. 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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