USF matched a season high with 13 runs in the loss Sunday.
FORT MYERS (March 14, 2021) – The USF Bulls (7-6) scored early and often in the Sunday finale of a three-game series with Florida Gulf Coast University (10-4), but it wasn’t enough to stop the Eagles from escaping with a 17-13 victory and a series sweep.
The Bulls led 3-0 after the first inning and padded their lead to 9-3 in the third, but a 10-run fifth frame by FGCU proved too much to overcome.
Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) put the exclamation point on a six-run third inning by USF with a three-run homer – his team-leading sixth longball of the year.
Roberto Pena (Caracas, Venezuela) highlighted the Bulls’ 14-hit attack with a 3-for-4 effort at the plate. Daniel Cantu (Jacksonville), Nick Gonzalez (Tampa), Joaquin Monque (Weston) and Nelson Rivera (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) each recorded two hits for USF in the setback.
Notable
· Brutcher extended his streak of reaching base safely to 13 consecutive games.
· Pena’s three-hit effort was a season high for the redshirt sophomore.
· Monque tallied the first two hits of his career.
· Gonzalez’s three RBI are a new career high.
· Cantu has a pair of hits and two RBI in each of his last two games.
Up Next
The Bulls will play four games at home next week beginning with a single tilt against Stetson on Tuesday, March 16. USF will then host No. 20 FAU in a three-game series beginning Friday, March 19.
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 –
