Orion Kerkering struck out seven Friday night and limited a potent Bears offense.
TAMPA (March 18, 2022) – A big offensive night and strong pitching performance carried the University of South Florida Bulls (12-6) to a 10-2 victory on Friday night over (RV) Mercer University (15-3) in the opener of a three-game weekend series at USF Baseball Stadium.
Mercer entered the series as one of only three teams in the country to rank inside the top-10 in ERA (2.44) and runs/game (10.1). The Bears are receiving votes in two national top-25 polls and came into the weekend with an RPI of 23.
Those numbers didn’t deter South Florida as the Bulls’ 10 runs were the most allowed this season by Mercer and the Bears’ two offensive runs were their lowest output of the year to date.
Reigning American Athletic Conference Player of the Week, Jackson Mayo (St. Johns), went 3-for-4 in the ballgame with a triple, home run, two RBI and three runs scored.
Mercer took an early 1-0 lead on Friday with an unearned run in the top of the first inning. The Bulls went down quietly in their first three turns to the plate before hanging crooked numbers on the scoreboard in back-to-back innings.
Roberto Peña (Caracas, Venezuela) was hit by a pitch to open the bottom of the fourth and Mayo and Matt Ruiz (Hialeah) followed with singles to load the bases. Daniel Cantu (Jacksonville) promptly cashed in those runners with a two-run single up the middle to give USF the lead. Two batters later, after a pitching change with two outs, Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) belted his seventh homer of the season to stretch the lead to 5-1.
Peña again sparked the offense in the fifth frame by drawing a one-out walk. Mayo chased him home with an RBI-triple, Ruiz followed with a run-scoring double and Cantu kept the line moving with an RBI-double of his own to make it an 8-2 affair. Carmine Lane (Lake Placid) tacked on another run with a sacrifice fly after a single by Nelson Rivera made it four consecutive hits in the inning.
That was plenty of offense for starter Orion Kerkering (Venice) on the mound. The right-hander allowed one more Mercer run in the top of the fifth before the Bulls posted a four-run bottom half. Kerkering (3-1) scattered four hits and struck out seven over 6.0 IP.
Devin Hemenway (Niceville) tossed three scoreless innings in relief to close the game and earn his first career save.
In Mayo’s fourth and final at-bat of the evening, the true freshman crushed a solo homer in the seventh inning. He ended the game just a double short of the cycle.
Notable
- Mayo is batting .476 with five extra-base hits (three homers) and six RBI over his last five games.
- Brutcher has five homers and 12 RBI over his last 10 games.
- Brutcher and Cantu each extended their streak of reaching base safely in 18 straight games to begin the season, while Lane saw his 17-game streak come to a close.
- Lane drove in a pair of runs on Friday and continues to lead the team in RBI (25).
- Ruiz tallied a season-high three hits.
Up Next
The Bulls and Bears continue their weekend series on Saturday, March 19 at 2 p.m. in Tampa.
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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