The Bulls and Owls will face off for the first time since the 2015 NCAA Regional.
MATCHUP: USF vs. FAU (three-game series)
SCHEDULE: Fri., March 19 at 6 p.m., Sat., March 20 at 6 p.m., Sun., March 21 at 1 p.m.
FOLLOW: USF Live Stats I Twitter updates @USFBaseball
RADIO: BullsUnlimited (iheart Radio)
TAMPA (March 18, 2021) – The USF Bulls (7-7) continue their five-game homestand with three games against the FAU Owls (9-6). The series begins on Friday, March 19 at 6 p.m. from USF Baseball Stadium.
The Bulls and Owls will square off for the first time since the 2015 NCAA Regional, and FAU will travel to Tampa for the first time since 2009.
USF is looking to break out of a four-game skid which followed a seven-game winning streak. FAU has also been up and down early this season, but is receiving votes in a handful of national polls after recently falling out of the Top 25.
Head coach Billy Mohl (4th season) has announced Jack Jasiak (Spring Hill) as Friday’s opening starter with the rest of the rotation yet to be determined. Jasiak (2-1) owns a 2.08 ERA with 30 strikeouts and only four walks over 26.0 IP. The right-hander ranks 44th in the country in strikeouts. Jasiak, a redshirt freshman, has posted quality starts in three of his four outings.
Redshirt freshman Carmine Lane (Lake Placid) has recently taken over the mantle as the Bulls’ leading hitter with a .385 clip. Lane’s 20 hits this season rank third on the team behind Matt Ruiz (Hialeah) with 22 and Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) with 21. Brutcher has reached base safely in 14 consecutive games to begin his collegiate career, and his 47 total bases rank 12th nationally. The true freshman leads USF in homers (7), walks (12), runs (17) and is tied for the team lead in RBI (14) with Riley Hogan (Orlando).
Nick Gonzalez (Tampa) is hitting .438 (14-32) over his last 10 games and Roberto Peña (Caracas, Venezuela) is batting .500 (9-18) over his last five games. Peña homered twice in Tuesday’s loss to Stetson.
Collectively, the Bulls rank 19th in the country in batting average (.311) and 27th in hits (156). USF’s pitchers are 26th nationally in both strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.26) and total strikeouts (150).
Scouting FAU
FAU most recently lost to UCF, 8-3, after taking two of three from the Knights to begin the season. FAU has a noteworthy 3-2 victory over then-No. 6 Florida earlier this month, and the Owls have won two of their three games against common opponent, FGCU, this year. The Owls are a patient group at the plate (78 walks) and use the longball. FAU ranks 33rd nationally in walks, 13th in homers (23) and 37th in runs scored (110). FAU averages 7.3 runs/game compared to USF’s 7.2 in what could be a high-scoring series. The Owls have a team ERA north of 7.00 and USF’s is slightly above 5.00.
FAU has announced a pair of southpaws to begin the series, Hunter Cooley (2-1, 5.28 ERA) and Matt Sparling (2-0, 4.57), respectively, along with right-hander Javi Rivera (1-0, 10.38) as its probable pitching starters. Cooley will be making his first start of the season in the opener after making seven relief appearances this year. FAU posted a 41-21 record in 2019, winning the C-USA regular season title and reaching the NCAA Regional. The Owls went 10-6 in their abbreviated 2020 campaign.
Up Next
Following this three-game series, the Bulls wrap up their current homestand with a single game against North Florida on Tuesday, March 23 at 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 –
