Nolan Hudi made his first career start on Saturday for the Bulls and struck out four.
TAMPA (February 18, 2023) – The No. 13-ranked Maryland Terrapins bounced back from an opening night loss at the hands of the Bulls with an 8-1 win over the University of South Florida on Saturday afternoon at USF Baseball Stadium.
South Florida’s Nolan Hudi (Safety Harbor) made his first career start and gave the Bulls a strong outing after being one of USF’s most reliable relief pitchers in 2022. The left-hander allowed three runs (one earned) on four hits over 4.2 IP with four strikeouts.
Maryland’s Nick Dean opposed Hudi on the mound and allowed just one hit over 6.0 IP with eight strikeouts. USF’s Bobby Boser (Wesley Chapel), who homered twice on opening night, tallied the lone hit of the day off Dean in the second inning.
The Terrapins got the scoring started with a pair of unearned runs off Hudi in the top of the third inning and tacked on one more in the fifth. Maryland then broke the game open with a grand slam in the seventh inning, their second in as many ballgames.
A pinch-hit double by Pablo Ruiz (West Palm Beach) in the bottom of the seventh accounted for the Bulls’ only run of the day.
Following Hudi’s departure on the mound, five USF pitchers combined to finish the game, including four freshmen. Rookies Justin Jackson (Naples) and Chandler Dorsey (Lakeland) each logged scoreless relief outings.
Notable
- Hudi’s four strikeouts and 4.2 IP are both new career highs.
- Joaquin Monque (Weston) also came off the bench with a pinch-hit double in the ninth frame.
- Travis Sankovich (Uniontown, Pa.) went 1-for-3 on Saturday after going 3-for-4 with three RBI in his USF debut on Friday night.
Up Next
The Bulls and Terrapins meet once more in the rubber match of their three-game series on Sunday at 1 p.m. 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.
– #GoBulls –
