Roberto Peña hit his fifth homer in the past 11 games on Saturday.
TAMPA (March 26, 2022) – The University of South Florida Bulls (16-7) scored in the first inning and led wire-to-wire for the second straight day of a three-game series against Niagara University (2-17) for a 7-1 victory on Saturday afternoon at USF Baseball Stadium.
Jack Jasiak (Spring Hill) allowed just one baserunner in his start on the mound and the Bulls’ offense supported him with six runs over the first four innings. Roberto Peña (Caracas, Venezuela) staked Jasiak to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first with a two-run homer. Peña has six extra-base hits and 11 RBI over the last 10 games.
The Bulls are collectively slugging .482 with 15 homers and averaging more than nine runs per game over their last 10 outings.
South Florida hung another crooked number on the scoreboard with four runs in the fourth frame. Ben Rozenblum (Coral Springs) drove in three with a bases-clearing double and Joaquin Monque (Weston) added an RBI-double. Monque recorded his second RBI of the day with a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning.
On the mound, Jasiak (2-0) surrendered a two-out single in the top of the first inning and proceeded to retired 13 straight Purple Eagles to the conclusion of his outing. The right-hander struck out two over 5.0 IP.
Ethan Brown (Winter Gardens), Tommy Groom (Orlando) and Caleb Pundsack (Groveland) each recorded a scoreless inning of relief.
Notable
- Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) walked twice in the ballgame and has reached base safely in all 22 games this season.
- Rozenblum’s three RBI are a new season high.
- Groom has not allowed a run in four relief appearances to date (4.1 IP).
Up Next
The Bulls and Purple Eagles conclude their weekend series on Sunday at 1 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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