Lawson Gailey made his second career start for USF on Tuesday night.
FORT MYERS (March 21, 2023) – The University of South Florida Bulls (8-14) lined up against a nationally-ranked opponent for the seventh time this season on Tuesday night and suffered a 5-3 setback at No. 19 Florida Gulf Coast University (17-4).
The FGCU Eagles entered Tuesday’s tilt ranked 18th in the NCAA in runs per game (9.1), and were held to their second-lowed scoring output of the season by the South Florida pitching staff.
The potent FGCU offense got on the board in the bottom of the first inning, but freshman Lawson Gailey (Lavonia, Ga.) limited the damage by allowing just one run after working out of a bases-loaded situation with no outs.
The Eagles loaded the bases again with no outs in the fourth frame, but Gailey and Jackson Cothren (Fayetteville, Tenn.) combined to work out of the jam again with only one run crossing the plate.
FGCU finally hung a crooked number on the scoreboard with three runs in the bottom of the fifth to stretch its lead to 5-0.
Freshman Rafael Betancourt (Deltona) got the USF offense going with his second hit of the game in the top of the seventh inning. Two batters later, Jackson Mayo (St. Johns) drilled an RBI-double into right-center field to put the Bulls on the board. Fellow freshman Eric Snow (Forsyth, Ga.) chased home Mayo with a two-out single and Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) capped the three-run frame with an RBI-single to make it a 5-3 affair.
The Bulls and Eagles each finished the game with nine hits, and USF had several hard-hit balls throughout the night with nothing to show for them, including the final out of the game as the FGCU shortstop robbed Snow of a base hit that would have brought the tying run to the plate.
Notable
Brutcher extended his streak of reaching base safely to 18 consecutive games.
Snow extended his hitting streak to seven games.
Betancourt is batting .368 (7-for-19) since making his collegiate debut last Tuesday.
Austin Grause (Tampa) tossed two scoreless innings out of the bullpen and has not allowed an earned run over his last three appearances (5.1 IP).
Up Next
The Bulls return home for their final non-conference weekend series against VCU on March 24-26 at USF Baseball Stadium.
About USF Baseball
The USF Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and is entering its 58th season in 2023 under head coach Billy Mohl (sixth 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 18 have earned Freshman All-America accolades, most recently Drew Brutcher and Carmine Lane in 2021. 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.
– #GoBulls –
