Brad Lord struck out six and allowed just one hit over 4.0 IP on Sunday.
TAMPA (March 27, 2022) – The University of South Florida Bulls (17-7) have won five straight games and logged their fifth consecutive series win on Sunday afternoon after sweeping Niagara University (2-18) with an 11-3 victory at USF Baseball Stadium.
South Florida has won 10 of its last 12 games overall and is averaging nearly nine runs per game offensively in that span. The Bulls will enter conference play next weekend with the most runs scored (179), most home runs (34) and best OBP (.414) among its AAC foes.
Carmine Lane (Lake Placid) leads the league in hits (37) and RBI (33), and Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) has the most home runs (9). Brutcher (.504) and Daniel Cantu (.455) rank second and third, respectively, in OBP.
Cantu (Lakeland) blasted his third home run of the season in Sunday’s series finale against Niagara in the fifth inning to make it an 8-0 ballgame before the Purple Eagles got on the board with a pair of runs in the seventh and logged more in the ninth, but it was all USF for the duration of the day.
The Bulls scored first and led wire-to-wire in all three games of the series with Matt Ruiz (Hialeah) giving the home team an early 1-0 lead in the opening frame on a sacrifice fly Sunday.
On the mound, Brad Lord (Crawfordville) made his first start since March 12th and breezed through the Niagara batting order. The right-hander allowed just one hit and struck out six batters over 4.0 IP.
South Florida’s formidable rotation of Orion Kerkering (Venice), Jack Jasiak (Spring Hill) and Lord combined to yield just one run on four hits with 16 strikeouts (zero walks) over 16.0 IP this weekend against Niagara ahead of next weekend’s opening series in conference play.
After Lord’s final frame on the hill, the Bulls broke the game open Sunday with a five-spot in the bottom of the fourth. USF tacked on two more with Cantu’s homer in the fifth inning, tallied a run in the seventh and added two more in the eighth.
Jackson Mayo (St. Johns) went 3-for-4 in the ballgame an RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base.
Hunter Mink (Palm Harbor) and Joseph Sanchez (Miami) each logged scoreless relief appearances over 3.1 IP combined to preserve Sunday’s lead and victory.
Notable
- Brutcher has reached base safely in all 23 games this season.
- H. Mink has yet to allow a run in nine appearances this year (15.2 IP).
- Roberto Peña (Caracas, Venezuela) batted .500 (6-for-12) with two doubles, two homers and eight RBI for USF over four wins this week.
Up Next
The Bulls will conclude a four-game homestand on Tuesday against Bethune-Cookman before traveling to Orlando to open AAC play against UCF on April 1-3. First pitch Tuesday is set for 6 p.m. in Tampa.
For tickets, please visit usfbullstix.com or call 1-800-Go-Bulls.
About USF Baseball
The USF Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and is entering its 57th season in 2022. Head coach Billy Mohl is entering his fifth season at the helm. 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 players were selected in the 2018 MLB Draft, including the program’s fourth first-round selection in pitcher Shane McClanahan, who made his Major League debut with the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2020 World Series and was the Rays’ postseason game one starter in 2021.
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