Tanner Mink made his first career start for USF on Sunday and matched a career high with four strikeouts.
GREENVILLE, N.C. (May 15, 2022) – The ECU Pirates claimed at least a share of the 2022 American regular season championship on Sunday afternoon with a 6-2 victory over the University of South Florida Bulls.
ECU improves to 34-18 (17-4 AAC) after the weekend sweep while South Florida falls to 26-25 (6-15 AAC).
The final score was not indicative of how closely the Bulls played the Pirates in the series finale, but a pair of unearned runs along with a defensive miscue that led to a three-run homer in the eighth inning decided the ballgame for the home team.
USF erased a 2-0 ECU lead in the sixth inning with a pair of runs, but the Pirates answered right back with an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth to reclaim the lead.
After working a scoreless seventh inning on the mound, Joey Volini (Tampa) returned for the eighth and was heading toward another 1-2-3 inning. The left-hander fielded a slow chopper which should have been the final out of the inning, but nobody was covering first base for the throw. Volini hit the next batter and surrendered a three-run homer to the next Pirate he faced.
While that play did not go down as an error, the misplay cost the Bulls three extra runs in what should have been a 3-2 affair heading to the ninth inning.
Marcus Brodil (Dunedin) drove in the first USF run of the game in the sixth inning as the freshman was batting out of the leadoff spot for the first time in his career. Nick Gonzalez (Tampa) went 1-for-4 with an RBI-double to tie the game later in the sixth frame.
Hunter Mink (Palm Harbor) made his first career start on the mound for the Bulls and turned in his longest career outing (3.1 IP). The right-hander allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and matched a career high with four strikeouts.
Notable
- Gonzalez is hitting .375 (21-56) over 18 conference games this year.
- After Sunday’s outing, Mink has posted a 2.76 ERA with 12 strikeouts over his last eight appearances (16.1 IP).
Up Next
The Bulls return to Tampa to close out the regular season with a four-game homestand. USF hosts Stetson on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. in a non-conference tilt followed by a three-game AAC series against Wichita State beginning on Thursday, May 19.
For tickets, please visit usfbullstix.com or call 1-800-Go-Bulls.
About USF Baseball
The USF Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and is entering its 57th season in 2022. Head coach Billy Mohl is entering his fifth season at the helm. 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 players were selected in the 2018 MLB Draft, including the program’s fourth first-round selection in pitcher Shane McClanahan, who made his Major League debut with the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2020 World Series and was the Rays’ postseason game one starter in 2021.
– #GoBulls –
