The Bulls and Green Wave will battle on Thursday for a chance to remain in the winner’s bracket.
MATCHUP: No. 6 USF vs. No. 2 Tulane
SCHEDULE: Thurs., May 27 – 47 minutes after the conclusion of the 3 p.m. game
LOCATION: BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fla.
TAMPA (May 26, 2021) – The No. 6 seed University of South Florida Bulls (25-26) continue play in the 2021 American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship on Thursday in a winner’s bracket game against No. 2 seed Tulane (29-22). First pitch is slated for 47 minutes following the conclusion of the 3 p.m. game at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater.
USF advanced to the second round with a 7-2 victory over No. 3 seed Wichita State on Tuesday. Tulane advanced with a 4-1 win over No. 7 seed Houston.
The Bulls charged out of the gates in their opening round contest against Wichita State, scoring three runs in the first inning, and never looked back. USF scored three runs in the first inning and Roberto Peña (Caracas, Venezuela) belted a two-run homer to the opposite field in the second frame. Daniel Cantu (Jacksonville) added a towering solo home run in the eighth.
Head coach Billy Mohl (4th season), a Tulane alum, will send Jack Jasiak (Spring Hill) to the mound against the Green Wave. Jasiak (5-7, 3.24 ERA) has won three straight outings, turning in quality starts in each. The redshirt freshman leads the team with 10 quality starts this season. Jasiak owns a 0.86 ERA (2 ER/20 IP) over his last three starts, including seven shutout innings of two-hit ball against nationally-ranked ECU last Friday.
Thursday will be the first matchup of the season between USF and Tulane as their regular season series was cancelled.
Scouting Tulane
The Green Wave were locked in a scoreless affair in the opening round against No. 7 seed Houston until breaking through with a run in the sixth inning. Houston answered back to tie the game in the top of the seventh before Walker Burchfield hit a solo homer for the go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh.
Tulane will call on left-hander Jack Aldrich (5-2, 3.66 ERA) on Thursday against USF. The redshirt junior leads the pitching staff with 86 strikeouts over 76.1 IP while issuing 21 walks.
Freshman Bennett Lee paces the Tulane offense with a .440 batting average over 34 games played. Collin Burns is batting .353 and ranks seven in the country in hits (78) and 12th in doubles (19). Burns also has a team-best 20 stolen bases. Chase Engelhard is a .305 hitter and leads the Green Wave in homers (8) and RBI (45).
Tulane batted .296 as a team with 24 homers and 47 stolen bases over 27 conference games.
Up Next
The winner of Thursday’s matchup will remain in the winner’s bracket and earn another off day before returning to action on Saturday. That winner’s bracket game is set to begin 47 minutes after the conclusion of the 9 a.m. game. The loser of Thursday’s tilt will face an elimination game on Friday (47 minutes after the conclusion of the 1 p.m. game).
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 –
