TAMPA (March 20, 2021) – The USF baseball team (0-2) dropped both games of a doubleheader to Florida Gulf Coast (2-0) to open the 2021 season at USF Baseball Stadium Saturday.
FGCU outlasted USF in extra innings of the opener, 4-1, before claiming the nightcap with an 11-6 victory.
Jack Jasiak (Spring Hill) posted a quality start in Game 1 while earning and no-decision and freshman Matt Ruiz (Haileah) went 5-for-11 at the plate on the day.
Game 1
Jasiak and FGCU’s Mason Studstill were locked in a pitcher’s duel which extended into each team’s bullpen. Jasiak struck out five and allowed just three hits over 6.1 scoreless innings. For the second time in his young career, the right-hander did not issue a walk as he faced just one batter over the minimum through five innings.
Studstill scattered six USF hits and walked two over 6.0 innings. The Eagles’ starter escaped a handful of jams, including his final inning of work when the Bulls had a pair of runners in scoring position, but were held off the board in the bottom of the sixth inning.
In total, the Bulls stranded 15 runners on base in the Game 1 setback.
In the top of the sixth, the USF defense flashed some leather on a handful of plays, including a run-saving effort by Ruiz and Jake Sullivan (Tampa). With an FGCU runner on third and one out, Ruiz made a heads-up play at the hot corner on a groundball and fired to Sullivan, who made a diving tag on the incoming runner in a bang-bang play.
At the plate, Ruiz had a day in his first collegiate ballgame. The true freshman went 3-for-5 with a pair of stolen bases.
Dylan Burns (Vero Beach) was solid out of the Bulls bullpen, but ultimately was tagged with the loss. Burns (0-1) relieved Jasiak in the seventh inning and tossed scoreless frames in the eighth and ninth before issuing a walk and double in the top of the 10th to spark a four-run rally for the Eagles.
Carmine Lane (Lake Placid) went 2-for-2 off the bench for USF, including an RBI-single in the bottom of the 10th.
Game 2
After a scoreless first inning in the finale, both teams scratched the plate in the second frame. FGCU jumped out to a 3-0 lead and the Bulls answered with a run in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Dontae Mitchell (St. Petersburg).
The Eagles went right back to work in the top of the fourth with a run and proceeded to score at least once over the next three innings to pad their lead to 11-1.
Caleb Pundsack (Groveland), Alex Lozado (Georgetown, Ind.) and Tanner Mink (Palm Harbor) each tossed scoreless innings of relief to stymie FGCU late and give the Bulls’ offense a chance.
Daniel Cantu (Jacksonville) recorded RBI-singles in the seventh and ninth innings as the USF bats did not go down quietly in the final frame. Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) drew a bases-loaded walk and Roberto Pena (Caracas, Venezuela) added a two-run double in the ninth to account for the final score.
Quotable
Notable
- Jasiak’s three hits allowed on the mound in Game 1 are a new career low.
- Ruiz tallied three hits in his first collegiate game, finishing the day 5-for-11 with a double and a pair of stolen bases.
- The Game 1 loss snapped USF’s three-game winning streak vs. FGCU.
- Game 2 starter Brad Lord (Groveland) struck out six over 3.2 IP in his Bulls’ debut.
- Brutcher went 2-for-4 with two walks and an RBI in Game 2.
Up Next
The Bulls and Eagles conclude their three-game series on Sunday in Fort Myers. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. The game will be streamed live on Youtube.
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 –
