USF will travel across the Bay to Clearwater for the American Championship.
MATCHUP: No. 6 USF vs. No. 3 Wichita State
SCHEDULE: Tues., May 25 – 47 minutes after the conclusion of the 4 p.m. game
LOCATION: BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fla.
TAMPA (May 24, 2021) – The USF Bulls (24-26, 14-14 AAC) enter the postseason riding high off back-to-back wins and a series split against No. 10 ECU at home last weekend. Overall, USF won seven of its last 11 games to conclude the regular season.
The sixth-seeded Bulls will open the conference tournament against the three seed – Wichita State (30-21, 18-13 AAC). The Bulls and Shockers split a four-game series in Wichita just two weeks ago. In that series, USF not only defeated Shocker ace Jace Kaminska, but tallied 19 extra-base hits and 10 home runs in the series.
The American Championship will be hosted at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater. Tickets are available at the link above.
Head coach Billy Mohl (4th season) has announced Collin Sullivan (Randolph, Mass.) as USF’s starting pitcher on Tuesday. Named to the American All-Conference Second Team on Monday, Sullivan owns a 2.81 ERA (16 ER/51.1 IP) with 60 strikeouts over his last nine appearances. The redshirt senior has turned in five quality starts this season.
Fellow All-AAC honoree, Carmine Lane (Lake Placid), continues to pace the Bulls’ offense in batting average (.328), hits (66), doubles (13), RBI (35), total bases (103) and runs (35).
Jack Jasiak (Spring Hill) and Nelson Rivera (Toa Alto, Puerto Rico) were each named to the AAC Honor Roll on Monday in the league’s final edition of its weekly awards. Jasiak leads the starting rotation with 10 quality starts and a 3.24 ERA this season. Rivera has been splitting time at catcher and designated hitter over the past two weeks.
Against The Field
USF split four-game series this season with No. 1 ECU, No. 3 Wichita State, No. 4 Cincinnati, and No. 7 Houston. The Bulls took three of four games from No. 8 Memphis, and dropped five of eight against No. 5 UCF. USF’s series against No. 2 Tulane was cancelled.
Up Next
A win on Tuesday night will provide an off day for the Bulls ahead of a matchup with either Houston or Tulane on Thursday evening. A loss will send USF to the loser’s bracket in a must-win elimination game on Wednesday against one of those same teams.
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.
