Drew Brutcher hit a walk-off homer in the 10th inning on Saturday for a 5-4 win over Wichita State.
TAMPA (May 21, 2022) – Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) missed the past month of the season with an injury before returning last weekend for the University of South Florida Bulls. On Thursday, the sophomore’s go-ahead home run carried South Florida to a win over Wichita State in the opener of a three-game set. On Saturday, Brutcher struck again with a walk-off homer in extra innings to secure the series win for the Bulls.
A rainout on Friday set up a Saturday doubleheader to close the 2022 regular season. Wichita State took the opening game, 11-7 (7 innings), before USF came from behind in the finale for a 5-4 win (10 innings) on Brutcher’s blast.
Brutcher entered his final at-bat 0-for-3 with three strikeouts, but one swing changed the whole day for him and the Bulls.
South Florida closes the regular season with a record of 28-27 (8-16 AAC) while Wichita State finishes at 21-34 (9-15 AAC).
Looking to sweep the doubleheader and take the series for themselves, the Shockers led 4-2 in the finale heading to the bottom of the eighth inning. That’s when USF’s other 2021 Freshman All-American rose to the occasion.
With two outs and a 3-2 count in the eighth, Carmine Lane (Lake Placid) belted a two-run homer to tie the game and ultimately set up Brutcher’s heroics.
Nick Gonzalez (Tampa) plated the Bulls’ first runs of the ballgame with a two-run triple in the first inning.
The USF bullpen was outstanding in the final game of the series with Jack Cebert (Tampa), Caleb Pundsack (Groveland) and Orion Kerkering (Venice) limiting the Shockers to two runs over 6.0 IP with nine strikeouts. Pundsack fanned threw batters over 3.0 IP and Kerkering struck out five over two scoreless frames to secure the win on the mound.
Notable
- Saturday was Brutcher’s second career walk-off home run in extra innings (March 7, 2021 vs. Stetson).
- Lane went 4-for-6 with four RBI over the doubleheader. He concludes the regular season as the AAC’s leader in hits (77) and RBI (54) – both marks standing as new career highs.
- Daniel Cantu went 2-for-4 with four RBI in the opening game on Saturday morning.
- Bobby Boser (Wesley Chapel) recorded a double in each of Saturday’s games.
Up Next
The Bulls will head across the Bay to Clearwater for the 2022 American Athletic Conference Championship. South Florida, the defending tournament champion, is the No. 8 seed and will face the top-seeded and regular season champion ECU Pirates. The opening game of the tournament is slated for 9 a.m. on Tuesday, May 24 with the Bulls and Pirates set to face off 47 minutes after the conclusion of that ballgame.
For tickets, please visit usfbullstix.com or call 1-800-Go-Bulls.
About USF Baseball
The USF Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and is entering its 57th season in 2022. Head coach Billy Mohl is entering his fifth season at the helm. 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 players were selected in the 2018 MLB Draft, including the program’s fourth first-round selection in pitcher Shane McClanahan, who made his Major League debut with the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2020 World Series and was the Rays’ postseason game one starter in 2021.
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