USF Baseball: Bulls drop heartbreaker to Texas in opener of Austin Super Regional

Bulls drop heartbreaker to Texas in opener of Austin Super Regional

Drew Brutcher tied the game with a two-run homer in the ninth before Texas walked off with a 4-3 win.

AUSTIN, Texas (June 13, 2021) – The University of South Florida Bulls (31-29) once again showed their collective grit and refusal to quit in the opening game of the NCAA Austin Super Regional on Saturday night.

It was a rollercoaster of emotions in the ninth inning as No. 2 Texas (46-15) ultimately walked off with a 4-3 victory.

The Bulls entered the top of the ninth inning three outs away from being shut out. Daniel Cantu (Jacksonville) changed that with one swing of the bat, sending a solo homer over the left-center field wall to lead off the frame.

Two batters later, Jarrett Eaton (Mobile, Ala.) extended the ballgame with a two-out double. Then, Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) silenced a standing-room only crowd of over 7,000 with a mammoth game-tying home run to right field.

The stunning turn of events and elation of the Bulls was unfortunately short-lived. A two-out USF error kept the Longhorns alive in the bottom of the ninth, and the very next Texas batter capitalized with a walk-off double.   

Jack Jasiak (Spring Hill) earned a no-decision after going five strong innings in the start. The redshirt freshman bounced back from a shaky first inning and limited the Longhorns to just two runs on three hits in his outing.

Brad Lord (Crawfordville) struck out three over 1.2 IP, but was charged with the loss after allowing an unearned run in the ninth.

Notable

  • South Florida is playing in its first-ever NCAA Super Regional.
  • Saturday’s game was the first meeting in program history between USF and Texas.
  • The Bulls fall to 4-17 when committing two or more errors in a game.
  • Brutcher, who entered the game as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning and had just three previous at-bats over the last three games since returning from injury, tallied his eighth home run of the season and first since March 16th.

Up Next

The Bulls and Longhorns square off again on Sunday in the best-of-three Austin Super Regional at 8 p.m. CT/9 ET. Sunday’s game will be broadcast on ESPNU. South Florida will need a win on Sunday to extend the series to game three on Monday. The winner of the Super Regional will advance to the College World Series.

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.

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