Charlotte, Louisville and UConn all travel to USF Baseball Stadium to begin the 2022 season.
GAME NOTES: View
2022 MEDIA GUIDE: View
USF BASEBALL INVITATIONAL
Friday, February 18
Charlotte vs. Louisville – 2 p.m.
UConn vs. South Florida – 6 p.m.
Saturday, February 19
UConn vs. Charlotte – 12 p.m.
Louisville vs. South Florida – 4 p.m.
Sunday, February 20
Louisville vs. UConn – 9 a.m.
Charlotte vs. South Florida – 1:30 p.m.
2021 RECORDS: Charlotte (40-21, NCAA Regional, sixth in program history) | Louisville (28-22, 13 NCAA Regional appearances) | UConn (34-19, NCAA Regional, 22nd all-time) | South Florida (31-30, NCAA Super Regional)
BALLPARK: USF Baseball Stadium | Tampa, Fla.
SERIES RECORDS: USF leads UConn, 35-29 | Louisville leads USF, 42-38 | USF leads Charlotte, 31-22
TV: ESPN+ (USF games only)
RADIO: iHeart Radio Bulls Unlimited
TWITTER UPDATES: @USFBaseball
By Joey Johnston
It’s a new season — for sure — but USF baseball hopes for an extended expiration date on the magic created by the program in 2021.
There was an American Athletic Conference Tournament title, including a championship-game victory against the UCF Knights.
There was an NCAA Regional bid and back-to-back wins against Florida and Miami, then a come-from-behind triumph against South Alabama to clinch the first Super Regional appearance in USF baseball history.
Then there were a couple of tension-filled games at mighty Texas — with Omaha and the College World Series so close, you could almost taste it. The Bulls were a worthy opponent — incredibly worthy when Drew Butcher’s game-tying, two-run, ninth-inning home run keep USF alive in Game 1 — but the home-standing Longhorns pulled the two-game sweep.
It was over.
But those memories won’t ever end.
And now, with the Bulls facing expectations rarely seen in the program’s history, with fan support hitting an all-time high and with a powerful opening-weekend lineup of UConn, Louisville and Charlotte ahead, USF baseball must close the book on 2021 — or at least turn the page.
Somehow.
“We don’t talk about last year,’’ said Bulls coach Billy Mohl, whose team opens Friday night against UConn. “It’s gone. Some of the players aren’t here anymore. This is a brand new team with a brand new identity.”
“This is where the experience factor comes in. When you’re a wide-eyed freshman playing a Division I sport for the first time, it’s a real challenge. After what we experienced last year, I think the guys know what to expect on a daily basis.’’
Now it’s back to the matter of winning games. In last season’s COVID-influenced slate, when AAC mostly held expanded four-game series each weekend, the Bulls could never do that consistently. The hot streak didn’t kick in until the AAC Tournament, then the postseason.
But the Bulls, 24-26 during the regular season, gained confidence by winning the final two games against No. 10-ranked East Carolina to split the series. Even though the Bulls reached the Super Regional round, their final record was just 31-30.
Accordingly, the AAC prognosticators weren’t overly impressed with USF’s full body of work. So, when the conference’s preseason poll was released, the Bulls were sixth, a decision that largely incensed the fans and caused some players to do a slow burn. Mostly, though, the Bulls aren’t playing the “no respect’’ card. There’s work to be done. This season, USF wants to be productive from start to finish.
“The real takeaway was learning that everybody on the team had a role and if one guy didn’t get the job done, then next guy would,’’ Bulls pitcher junior Brad Lord said. “I think all the time about fun the postseason was. We’re hungry to return. The feeling of losing against Texas, I think that motivates us every day.’’
“Our goal now is not to just make a Super Regional, but to host one,’’ Bulls sophomore shortstop Matt Ruiz said. “We don’t want USF to be that one-and-done team. But we know we have to be consistent in order to achieve that goal.’’
Lessons were learned.
The biggest, according to Mohl, was perseverance.
“We had a young club and we struggled to win series most of the time,’’ Mohl said. “Then we kind of changed the trajectory of where we were heading. It was a bunch of young guys who had never really been in the fire before. It gave them great experience coming into this season.
“You can talk about it, but once you actually see what you’re capable of doing, it makes a huge difference. I think back to my time (as a player) at Tulane. We went to a regional my freshman year. We were hungry to get back. Sophomore year, we go to a super (regional). We lose. Junior year, we get to Omaha as a No. 1 seed. We kept building on our experience and I think it gave us belief. After last season, I think our guys believe.’’
The Bulls are expected to rally around top pitcher Jack Jasiak, a deeper supporting cast on the mound, a clutch bullpen and a lineup that features speed, power and defense.
An underrated characteristic is the togetherness and teamwork that the Bulls experienced at the end of last season.
“We got a tremendous amount of attention in the postseason and that’s what we wanted,’’ said Bulls sophomore Daniel Cantu, who was Most Outstanding Player of the AAC Tournament. “We don’t want to be a nobody. We know we have to grind for each other on each at-bat, each pitch, each strike. Once we took out all the selfish parts of our game and bought into playing for the next guy, we took off. Own your role. Don’t try to do too much. That became our identity.’’
“We can’t look at last year any more,’’ Freshman All-American Drew Brutcher said. “All those teams we beat, they’re going to come after us even harder this year. Every team is going to do that. We have a bull’s-eye on our back. But that’s OK. We’re coming out harder, too. We know where we want to go. And we have learned how we need to get there.’’
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 –
