USF Baseball: Bulls streak into mid-week matchup at Florida State

USF travels to Tallahassee on Tuesday with a seven-game winning streak.

MATCHUP: USF vs. Florida State

SCHEDULE: Tuesday at 4 p.m.

TAMPA (March 8, 2021) – The USF Bulls (7-3) will put their seven-game winning streak on the line Tuesday against ACC foe Florida State University (4-5). First pitch is Tallahassee is set for 4 p.m.

Head coach Billy Mohl (4th season) has announced Baron Stuart (Okeechobee) as the Bulls’ probable starter for the mid-week matchup. Stuart (2-0) will be making his second start of the season and third overall appearance. The redshirt junior has struck out 13 batters over 10.1 IP this year.

On Monday, Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week along with weekend starter Jack Jasiak (Spring Hill), the AAC Pitcher of the Week. Brutcher batted .333 (5-15) with three homers, five RBI and five runs scored in last weekend’s three-game sweep of Stetson. The true freshman homered in three straight games, including a walk-off blast in the 12th inning of Sunday’s finale.

Brutcher is hitting .415 on the season with three doubles, five home runs and nine RBI. His 35 total bases rank 16th in the country. Fellow rookie, Matt Ruiz (Hialeah) continues to lead USF with a .444 batting average. Redshirt freshman Carmine Lane (Lake Placid) is coming off a weekend in which he batted .583 to raise his season average to .429.

Scouting Florida State

The Seminoles are coming off a series win against then-No. 16-ranked Virginia over the weekend. Florida State was picked to finish third in the ACC Atlantic Division. Florida State went 12-5 in its abbreviated 2020 campaign after a 42-43 showing in 2019. Freshman Carson Montgomery (0-1, 0.00 ERA/5.0 IP) has been tabbed the starter for FSU on Tuesday. Redshirt sophomore Robby Martin was named to the preseason Golden Spikes Award Watch List as one of the top players in the country. Martin was an All-American as a freshman and named to the ACC All-Freshman Team. The Seminoles are averaging just over five runs/game this year while batting .214 as a team. Tyler Martin (.440) is the only FSU batter hitting over .300 entering Tuesday’s tilt.

Up Next

The Bulls have a rematch against Florida Gulf Coast in a three-game series beginning on Friday, March 12 in Fort Myers. FGCU will host the bookends of the series wthl the teams playing in Tampa for the middle game on Saturday, March 13.

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