Dominick Madonna struck out a career-best eight and Jackson Mayo hit a go-ahead homer in a 4-1 win over Bethune-Cookman.
TAMPA (April 9, 2024) – Dominick Madonna (Lady Lakes) dominated the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (17-15) on Tuesday night in a 4-1 victory for the University of South Florida Bulls (20-13) at USF Baseball Stadium. Jackson Mayo (St. John’s) hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning for the Bulls, who have won four straight and eight of their last 11 overall.
Madonna (1-1), a senior transfer from UNF, delivered his first quality start at South Florida and eighth of his career. The right-hander turned in a season-best 8.0 IP and allowed one run on six hits with a career-high eight strikeouts and only one walk.
The Wildcats plated the first run of the evening in the top of the fourth, and the Bulls were no-hit through four innings by Bethune-Cookman starter Joel Core before Marcus Brodil (Dunedin) broke up his bid with a two-out single in the fifth frame. USF only had three baserunners through the first six innings until John Montes (Toa Alto, Puerto Rico) led off the seventh with a single and Mayo followed with a towering two-run blast to right-center field for the lead.
Matt Rose (Clearwater) added a two-out RBI-single in the seventh inning to pad the Bulls’ lead to 3-1 and the home team scratched across an unearned run in the eighth.
Riley Skeen (Pompano Beach) recorded his second save of the season in relief of Madonna by striking out the side in the ninth. Skeen hasn’t allowed a run over his last four appearances from the bullpen (7.0 IP).
Notable
- Over the four-game homestand USF’s starting pitchers of Madonna, Hunter Mink (Palm Harbor), Jack Cebert (Tampa) and Lawson Gailey (Lavonia, Ga.) combined to go 3-0 with a 2.30 ERA (27.1 IP/7ER), 24 strikeouts and three walks.
- Skeen has only allowed one earned run over his last seven appearances (10.2 IP) to go along with 12 strikeouts.
- Brodil extended his hitting streak to a career-best 10 games.
- Montes has reached base safely in 15 consecutive games.
- The Bulls are riding their fourth four-game winning streak of the season and improved to 15-6 at home.
- USF improved to 68-17 in its all-time series with Bethune-Cookman.
- Mayo also accounted for the game-winning run with a solo homer in USF’s 6-5 win at Bethune-Cookman on March 26.
Up Next
The Bulls resume conference play with a three-game weekend series at Tulane beginning on Friday, April 12 at 7:30 p.m. ET. South Florida (6-3 AAC) enters the series tied for second in the league standings while Tulane (3-6) sits in eighth.
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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