USF Baseball: Bulls grind out comeback win over Stony Brook, 3-2

The Bulls scored twice in the bottom of the eighth for a 3-2 victory on Friday night.

TAMPA (February 25, 2022) – The University of South Florida Bulls (2-2) plated a pair of two-out runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on Friday night to complete a 3-2 comeback victory over Stony Brook University (1-3) at USF Baseball Stadium.

Trailing 2-1, Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) and Ben Rozenblum (Coral Springs) recorded back-to-back singles to open the eighth and spark the South Florida rally. Carmine Lane (Lake Placid) walked to load the bases, but two straight strikeouts had the Seawolves on the verge of escaping the jam.

Keanu Jacobs-Guishard (Philipsburg, St. Maarten) showed a patient eye in his two-out at-bat and drew a bases loaded walk to tie the game. Nelson Rivera (Toa Alto, Puerto Rico) followed suit with another free pass to push across the go-ahead run.

Orion Kerkering (Venice) entered in the top of the ninth and set the Seawolves down in order to record his first save of the season.

Jack Jasiak (Spring Hill) turned in his second quality start of the season – and 16th of his young career. The redshirt sophomore allowed two runs (one earned) on just three hits over 6.0 IP while striking out a season-high eight batters. Jasiak retired 13 straight Stony Brook batters from the end of the first through the fifth inning.

The Seawolves got to Jasiak for an unearned run in the top of the first, despite the right-hander striking out the side. Stony Brook tallied its second and final run in the top of the sixth inning to take a 2-0 lead.

The Bulls cut their deficit in half in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI-single by Lane. Brutcher and Rozenblum also singled in the inning ahead of the run-scoring hit.

Joseph Sanchez (Miami) picked up the win with a pair of stellar innings in relief. The senior southpaw struck out three batters and allowed just one hit over 2.0 IP.

Notable

  • Rozenblum went 3-for-4 on the night with a double and stolen base, and has hit safely in all four games this season.
  • The Bulls pitching staff struck out at least 10 batters (11) for the second time this season.

Up Next

South Florida and Stony Brook continue their three-game series on Saturday night in Tampa. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.

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.

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