For the second straight game, the USF offense outshined Stetson’s pitching.
DELAND (March 6, 2021) – The USF Bulls (6-3) extended their winning streak to six in a row on Saturday night with a 10-5 victory over Stetson University (10-2), and in the process, may have shown that their early-season offensive firepower is here to stay.
USF entered the three-game weekend series ranked 14th in the country in hits, 23rd in batting average and 27th in slugging. Stetson’s pitching staff was ranked fourth in the country in ERA, and the Bulls have already secured a series win by defeating two of the Hatters’ top three starting pitchers.
For the second straight day against Stetson, Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) and Roberto Pena (Caracas, Venezuela) homered, but the Bulls also manufactured plenty of offense without the longball, finishing the night with 16 hits while scoring runs in five of the first six innings of the game.
Carmine Lane (Lake Placid) opened the scoring with an RBI-single in the top of the first only to see the Hatters answer with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame to take their first lead of the series. Brutcher provided the response for USF in the form of a clutch two-out three-run homer in the top of the second and the Bulls never trailed again.
Pena padded the lead to 5-2 with a solo homer run in the third inning. The Hatters cut their deficit to 5-3 in the fourth before USF put up crooked numbers in the fifth and sixth frames for five unanswered runs.
Five straight Bulls reached base in the fifth, including consecutive singles by Matt Ruiz (Hialeah), Riley Hogan (Orlando), Lane and Dillon Besnier (Apollo Beach). Hogan and Lane added run-scoring hits in the sixth frame to account for USF’s final tally.
On the mound, Baron Stuart (Okeechobee) was the winning pitcher in a relief effort and Logan Lyle (Bartow) tallied his first career save, as the redshirt senior struck out five without allowing a hit over three scoreless innings.
Notable
- Brutcher, a true freshman, extended his hitting streak to nine straight and is batting .429 with three homers over his last five games.
- After seeing his seven-game hitting streak end on Friday, Ruiz went 2-for-4 with a triple and a walk, and leads USF with seven multi-hit games.
- Lane’s four hits and three RBI on Saturday are both new career highs.
- Nick Gonzalez (Tampa) had a season-high three hits, and has multi-hit efforts in two straight.
- Collin Sullivan (Randolph, Mass.) earned a no-decision in the start and struck out four over 3.2 IP.
- Stuart earned his second win in relief and has struck out 10 batters over 6.2 IP in his last two appearances.
- USF’s 12 strikeouts were the second-most by the pitching staff in a game this season.
- The Bulls’ 16 hits offensively were the second-highest total of the year.
Up Next
The Bulls return home to USF Baseball Stadium on Sunday seeking a sweep of Stetson in the series finale. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m.
About USF Baseball
The USF Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and is entering its 56th season in 2021. The Bulls have won 1,628 games entering the 2021 season and made 13 NCAA Tournament appearances, including three since 2015. The Bulls have won four conference tournament titles (3 Sun Belt and 1 Metro) and had 126 all-conference selections. USF baseball players have been recognized with All-America honors 12 times, most recently with third baseman David Villar in 2018. Four players were selected in the 2018 MLB Draft, including the program’s fourth first round selection in pitcher Shane McClanahan, who appeared in the 2020 World Series with the Tampa Bay Rays. The Bulls saw continued success in head coach Billy Mohl’s first season in 2018, reaching 36 wins, advancing to the semifinals of the conference tournament for the first time since 2012, and making the program’s latest NCAA Tournament appearance while also achieving a ranking in multiple polls for the final two months of the season.
– #GoBulls –
