Matt Ruiz went 3-for-3 with two walks and two RBI for USF.
TAMPA (March 30, 2021) – The USF Bulls (10-12) battled back from a pair of early deficits on Tuesday night and scored four unanswered runs over the final four frames to conclude their non-conference schedule with a 7-3 victory over Stetson University (16-9).
True freshman Matt Ruiz (Hialeah) reached base safely in all five at-bats in the ballgame, and drove in the go-ahead runs in the sixth inning with a two-run single.
Stetson opened the evening with back-to-back doubles in the top of the first inning to take an immediate 1-0 lead. In the third inning, Carmine Lane (Lake Placid) erased the USF deficit with a clutch two-out RBI-single. Lane, a redshirt freshman, matched Ruiz at the plate with three hits and two RBI when it was all said and done.
The Bulls scored six of their seven runs in the game with two outs.
The Hatters regained a 3-1 advantage in the fourth after a two-out error extended the inning and led to a two-run homer. USF cut the Stetson lead to 3-2 in the fifth when Roberto Peña (Caracas, Venezuela) walked, advanced on a Ruiz single, and moved to third and then home on a pair of wild pitches.
Ruiz delivered what proved to be the game-winning runs in the bottom of the sixth frame, again with two outs.
The Bulls got a pair of unearned runs back in the seventh inning, including an RBI-single by Jake Sullivan (Tampa), and tacked on one final insurance run in the eighth on an RBI-single by Lane.
Connor Churchill (Tampa) was the winning pitcher in relief as one of seven USF pitchers to oppose the Hatters Tuesday. The redshirt junior allowed one hit and struck out one batter over 1.1 IP while earning his first victory at USF.
Notable
- The Bulls won four of five meetings this season against Stetson.
- Ruiz went 3-for-3 with a pair of walks, two RBI and a stolen base…he leads USF with 11 multi-hit games this season.
- Sullivan went 2-for-2 after entering the game in the sixth inning and is batting .529 (9-for-17) over his last eight games.
- Devin Hemenway (Niceville) allowed one run on two hits and struck out three over 2.0 IP in his first start of the year.
- Logan Lyle (Bartow), Caleb Pundsack (Groveland) Baron Stuart (Okeechobee) and Orion Kerkering (Venice) each made scoreless relief appearances.
Up Next
The Bulls host UCF in the War on I-4 for a four-game series to begin AAC play on Thursday, April 1. First pitch in the series opener is set for 6 p.m.
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 –
