Jack Cebert shut down the Houston Cougars on Sunday to salvage the series finale.
HOUSTON, Texas (April 16, 2023) – In need of a clutch pitching performance on the road in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Schroeder Park, Jack Cebert (Tampa) stepped up in a big way to help guide the University of South Florida Bulls (16-21, 5-4 AAC) to a 13-2 victory over the Houston Cougars (20-16, 6-3 AAC).
Houston and South Florida entered the three-game weekend series tied atop The American standings with ECU. The ECU Pirates now sit alone in first place at 7-2 in conference play.
Cebert (3-1) logged his fourth quality start of the season, and second in a row, while turning in a career-best 7.1 IP. His outing came a day after Houston claimed the series win on Saturday with 10 runs against Hunter Mink (Palm Harbor), who had his streak of four consecutive quality starts snapped.
Cebert allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits with five hits. He retired 15 straight batters from a one-out single in the first inning to a one-out single in the sixth. The right-hander was on the mound in the eighth inning with a chance for his first career complete game with USF leading 11-1 in a potential run-rule victory, but his first free pass of the day (HBP) ended his outing.
Despite Saturday’s loss, the South Florida offense put up at least 10 runs in each of the final two games of the series, after a 6-5 setback in the opener on Friday. USF has scored at least 10 runs in three of its last six games overall.
The Bulls led 9-0 heading to the bottom of the sixth inning on Sunday before the Cougars scratched the plate.
Bobby Boser (Wesley Chapel) opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the top of the first and Joaquin Monque (Weston) followed suit with a two-run blast in the second to give USF a 4-0 advantage.
Daniel Cantu (Jacksonville) split the left-center field gap with a two-run double in the top of the fifth and Monque drove in two more runs later in the frame. Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) homered for the third straight game in the top of the sixth inning.
Notable
- Brutcher is the first Bulls to homer in three straight games since he did so during his freshman campaign from March 5-7, 2021 vs. Stetson.
- Brutcher is currently riding a season-best 10-game hitting streak and is batting .417 (15-for-36) with eight extra-base hits and 11 RBI over that span. He batted .667 (8-for-12) with two doubles, three homers and seven RBI over four games last week.
- Boser batted .438 (7-for-18) with a double, five homers and eight RBI over four games last week. He is also riding a 10-game hitting streak.
- Cantu has reached base safely in a season-high 19-straight ballgames. He set a new career high with nine home runs on Saturday and matched his career high with 36 RBI on Sunday.
- Monque set a new career high with four RBI on Sunday.
- Cebert is 2-0 with a 1.26 ERA (2 ER/14.1 IP) and 12 strikeouts over his last two outings.
- Cebert, H. Mink and Ethan Brown (Winter Garden) have combined for 10 quality starts over their last 16 combined outings dating back to March 12th.
Up Next
The Bulls conclude a four-game road swing at UNF on Tuesday, April 18 at 6:05 p.m. in Jacksonville. Following that tilt, USF opens its longest homestand of the season (7 games) against UCF on April 21-23 in Tampa.
About USF Baseball
The USF Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and is entering its 58th season in 2023 under head coach Billy Mohl (sixth 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 18 have earned Freshman All-America accolades, most recently Drew Brutcher and Carmine Lane in 2021. 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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