he Bulls close an eight-game road stretch at Houston this weekend.
MATCHUP: USF at Houston (four-game series)
SCHEDULE: Fri., April 23 at 1 p.m., Sat., April 24 at 3 p.m. (DH), Sun., April 25 at 2 p.m.
TAMPA (April 22, 2021) – The USF Bulls (13-17, 3-5 AAC) travel to Texas for the second time this season, this time for conference play against the University of Houston Cougars (13-18, 1-7 AAC). The trip will conclude an eight-game stint away from Tampa for the Bulls.
USF is coming off a 3-1 series loss at UCF last weekend while Houston is mired in a seven-game losing streak. Both teams have only faced one AAC opponent thus far, with both sides having lost a weekend due to COVID contact tracing. The series will mark a return to action for the Cougars who had to postpone their games last weekend.
Due to forecast weather this weekend, the USF-Houston series schedule has been altered with the doubleheader moving from Friday to Saturday.
Head coach Billy Mohl (4th season) has announced Jack Jasiak (Spring Hill), Dylan Burns (Vero Beach) and Collin Sullivan (Randolph, Mass.) 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 (2-5, 3.73 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 five outings, he continues to give the Bulls quality innings. Jasiak has recorded quality starts in three of those five setbacks, and has turned in quality starts in six of his eight outings this year.
Burns (2-3, 4.12) and Sullivan (1-1, 5.11) have each been solid over the past month. Since moving into the starting rotation in late March, Burns is 2-1 with a 3.63 ERA (9 ER/22.1 IP) and 19 strikeouts. Over Sullivan’s last four starts, the right-hander is 1-1 with a 3.52 (9 ER/23.0 IP) and 25 strikeouts.
Carmine Lane (Lake Placid) continues to pace the USF offense with a .330 batting average, and Roberto Peña (Caracas, Venezuela) has a team-best 24 RBI while sharing the lead in home runs (7). Jake Sullivan (Tampa) is one of the Bulls’ hottest hitters of late, batting .381 over his last 14 games.
Riley Hogan (Orlando) was named to the AAC Honor Roll for the second time this year earlier this week. The redshirt freshman batted .444 with two doubles, a homer and five RBI last weekend at UCF, including a career-high five hits and four RBI in the finale. Hogan has reached base safely in 22 consecutive games entering the weekend.
Scouting Houston
The Cougars won their first AAC game of the year over Wichita State, 5-3, and proceeded to lose each of the next seven contests against the Shockers. Houston does have a 3-2 (11 inn.) victory on its resume over then-No. 19 Texas in non-conference play. The Cougars’ most impressive offensive stat is their 39 homers through 31 games which ranks 36th in the country (1.26/game). That firepower will be put to the test by the USF pitching staff which has yielded the third-fewest home runs (24) in the AAC.
Houston has announced the following weekend rotation: LHP Robert Gasser (4-3, 2.19 ERA), RHP Jaycob Deese (2-3, 4.86), RHP Carter Henry (0-2, 5.16) and RHP Ben Sears (1-2, 6.41). Gasser ranks 54th nationally in strikeouts (63) and is holding opposing batters to a .198 average. This season, USF is hitting .246 and slugging .333 against southpaws, compared to a .278 clip and a .427 slugging against right-handers.
Up Next
Following this series, the Bulls return home to host Cincinnati for four games on April 30-May 2 at USF Baseball Stadium. The Bulls will hold their annual “Cut For The Cure Game” in the finale on Sunday, May 2. For more information, click here.
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 –
