The Bulls put together their first conference sweep since 2017.
TAMPA (April 7, 2024) – The University of South Florida Bulls (19-13, 6-3 AAC) put together a ninth inning rally on Sunday afternoon and walked off with a 3-2 in the 10th inning to complete a three-game sweep of the Wichita State Shockers (19-13, 5-4 AAC) at USF Baseball Stadium. Kohl Robertson (Land O’ Lakes) put down a safety squeeze to chase home the game-winning run for the Bulls, who have won seven of their last 10 games.
“I’m proud of the way our guys kept fighting today,” said head coach Billy Mohl. “We did a good job yesterday with situational hitting, but we stranded a lot of runners early in this one. But we found a way and that’s what good teams do. Overall, a good step in the right direction for us this weekend on the mound and offensively against a good team to come away with another win.”
South Florida trailed 2-0 entering the bottom of the ninth inning and was 0-for-11 on the day with runners in scoring position until Drew Brutcher (Lakeland), who was 0-for-4 in the game, broke through with a two-run double to tie the game.
Stewart Puckett (DeLeon Springs) singled to open the 10th inning and eventually scored the game-winning run. Eric Snow (Forsyth, Ga.) was hit by a pitch and Marcus Brodil (Dunedin) followed with a walk to load the bases ahead of Robertson’s game-winner.
Lawson Gailey (Lavonia, Ga.) made his first weekend start of the season for the Bulls and allowed one run on four hits over 4.1 IP in a no-decision. Chandler Dorsey (Lakeland) closed out the ballgame for the third straight day in the series to earn his first win of the season.
Notable
- South Florida earned its first AAC sweep since May 5-7, 2017, against ECU.
- The Bulls conclude the weekend tied for second in the AAC standings.
- Puckett went 2-for-5 after missing the first two games of the series due to illness.
- Snow and John Montes (Toa Alto, Puerto Rico) joined Puckett with two-hit days. Montes has reached base safely in a season-high 14 straight games.
- Brodil extended his hitting streak to a career-best nine games.
- Riley Skeen (Pompano Beach), Matt Brown (Oakville, Ontario, Canada) and Joey Volini (Tampa) combined for 4.1 IP of scoreless relief. Skeen hasn’t allowed a run over his last three appearances (6.0 IP).
- The USF pitching staff issued only four walks throughout the three-game series – three of which came on Sunday.
Up Next
The Bulls wrap up their four-game homestand on Tuesday, April 9 against Bethune-Cookman at 6 p.m. in Tampa.
Double Play Passes, which include one ticket to every home baseball and softball game, can be purchased now for $99. Group and single game tickets are also on sale and can be purchased here or by calling 1-800-Go-Bulls.
About USF Baseball
The USF Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and is entering its 59th season in 2024 under head coach Billy Mohl (seventh season). 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 19 have earned Freshman All-America accolades, most recently Eric Snow in 2023. Four Bulls were selected in the 2022 MLB Draft. Former 2018 first-round selection, Shane McClanahan, became the program’s first-ever MLB All-Star in 2022 and was the starting pitcher for the American League.
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