The Bulls open an eight-game road stretch at UCF this weekend.
MATCHUP: USF at UCF (four-game series)
SCHEDULE: Fri., April 16 at 2 p.m. (DH), Sat., April 17 at 4 p.m., Sun., April 18 at 1 p.m.
FOLLOW: UCF Live Stats I Twitter updates @USFBaseball
RADIO: BullsUnlimited on iheart Radio (Friday DH only)
WATCH: ESPN+
GAME NOTES: PDF
TAMPA (April 15, 2021) – The USF Bulls (12-14, 2-2 AAC) return to the diamond after an unexpected week off and resume play against their last opponent – the UCF Knights (14-18, 4-4 AAC). The road trip marks USF’s first games away from home in conference play and is the first of eight straight away from Tampa.
The 2021 campaign marks the 50th anniversary of baseball competition between USF and UCF, dating back to 1971. The Bulls won that first meeting, 5-1. The teams split their first series this season in the War On I-4 in Tampa, 2-2.
Head coach Billy Mohl (4th season) has announced Jack Jasiak (Spring Hill), Collin Sullivan (Randolph, Mass.) and Dylan Burns (Vero Beach) as USF’s starting pitchers in each of the first three games, respectively. Sunday’s starter in the series finale is yet to be determined.
Jasiak (2-4, 3.63 ERA) is seeking his first win in over a month on the mound. While the redshirt freshman has been winless in each of his last four outings, he has given the Bulls quality innings. Jasiak has recorded quality starts in two of those four setbacks, and has turned in quality starts in five of his seven outings this year.
Sullivan is coming off a gem two weeks ago against UCF in which he came one out shy of a complete game. The redshirt senior was named to the AAC Honor Roll after logging 8.2 IP of three-hit ball (one unearned run) with nine strikeouts. Sullivan owns a 2.50 ERA (5 ER/18 IP) with 21 strikeouts over his last three starts. Burns has a 3.18 ERA (6 ER/17 IP) with 17 punchouts over his last three outings, and struck out a career-high eight two weeks ago against UCF.
Carmine Lane (Lake Placid) leads the USF offense with a .354 batting average and Roberto Peña (Caracas, Venezuela) has a team-best 23 RBI. Jake Sullivan (Tampa) is hitting .500 (13-26) over his last 10 games and Riley Hogan (Orlando) has reached base safely in 18 consecutive games. Lane, Peña and Hogan each homered against UCF in Tampa two weeks ago.
Scouting UCF
The Knights have announced the following weekend rotation: LHP Colton Gordon (4-2, 3.17 ERA), RHP Kenny Serwa (0-2, 4.70), RHP AJ Jones (3-2, 4.75) and RHP Jack Sinclair (1-3, 5.29), respectively. Gordon struck out eight and allowed two runs on seven hits over 6.0 IP in a win over USF two weeks ago. The southpaw ranks 12th in the country in stakeouts (65). Jones no-hit the Bulls for 6.1 IP in the series finale in Tampa en route to a win. The Bulls tagged Serwa for four runs over 6.0 IP and plated three over 4.0 IP against Sinclair for USF wins.
Up Next
Following this four-game series, the Bulls travel to the Lone Star State for a four-game set at the University of Houston on April 23-25.
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 –
