The Bulls scored six runs in the top of the ninth inning and outlasted the Pirates in 11 innings, 12-11.
CLEARWATER (May 23, 2023) – The University of South Florida Bulls (20-37) staged a six-run rally in the top of the ninth inning against the top-seeded and No. 15-nationally ranked ECU (41-16) to eventually defeat the Pirates in 11 innings, 12-11, in the opening round of the American Baseball Championship at BayCare Ballpark.
The Bulls and Pirates met for the fourth straight game after ECU swept USF in Tampa last weekend to claim the AAC regular season championship.
South Florida matched a season high with 19 hits on Tuesday as every Bull tallied at least one knock in the comeback victory. Rafael Betancourt (Deltona), Drew Brutcher (Lakeland), Travis Sankovich (Uniontown, Pa.), Eric Snow (Forsyth, Ga.) and Ben Rozenblum (Coral Springs) each drove in two runs.
Sankovich tied the game in the top of the ninth inning as USF exploded for six runs on eight hits in the frame and Brutcher drove in the winning run in the 11th inning.
The Bulls’ six-run rally in the ninth erased what started as a 9-3 deficit after seven frames as USF scored eight unanswered runs over the final two innings of regulation. South Florida led 11-9 heading to the bottom of the ninth only to see the Pirates knot the score once again with a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning to force extra innings.
ECU’s Ryley Johnson made a spectacular diving catch in the right-center field gap to rob Joaquin Monque (Weston) of extra bases and two RBI to finally end the top of the ninth inning to set up the Pirates’ game-tying homer.
After a scoreless 10th inning, Brutcher and the Bulls broke through after Sankovich led off the 11th inning with a single and came around to score the eventual game-winning run.
USF entered the ninth inning 3-for-16 in the ballgame with runners in scoring position and finished 10-for-28 after the clutch rally ensued.
“That was a marathon, but I’m really proud of the heart our guys showed to pull that out,” said head coach Billy Mohl. “This season obviously hasn’t gone the way we wanted it to, and there were multiple chances in that game for our guys to phone it in, but they refuse to quit. We put together good at-bats all day, but left a lot of opportunities and runners on base before we finally got the big hits late to come away with the win.”
It was a back-and-forth affair from the opening frame after South Florida took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first and ECU immediately answered with back-to-back solo homers to tie the game in the bottom of the inning. Betancourt (Deltona) staked USF to the first lead with a two-run single.
The Pirates took their first lead with a run in the bottom of the second inning and an RBI-groundout by Sankovich knotted the score again in the top of the sixth.
Still tied at 3-3 heading to the bottom of the seventh inning, the Pirates broke the game open. ECU pulled ahead 5-3 and proceeded to string together four straight hits with two outs to add four more runs and conclude the inning with a 9-3 advantage.
USF owned three-run leads in each of the first two games of last weekend’s series over ECU, but both times the Pirates rallied with a big inning late to pull away with victories. The Bulls did not allow that big inning to dictate the outcome on Tuesday.
Marcus Brodil (Dunedin) launched his first home run of the season to lead off the eighth inning and Snow drove in a run later in the frame to make it a 9-5 affair heading to the ninth.
Ethan Brown (Winter Garden) was the winning pitcher after tossing two scoreless frames in extra innings. Brown, who missed three weeks late in the season a shoulder injury, picked up his first victory since twirling seven shutout innings with 12 strikeouts at UCF on March 31st.
Hunter Mink (Palm Harbor) turned in five strong innings out of the bullpen in relief of starter Jack Cebert (Tampa). H. Mink allowed three runs on four hits with five strikeouts. He entered the game with the bases loaded and only one out in the second inning and only yielded one of those runs.
Notable
- Eighteen of USF’s 19 hits were singles. The Bulls ranked fifth in the AAC in slugging this season (.432).
- Boser went 1-for-3 on Tuesday with two walks and two HBP. He extended his career high hitting (14) and on-base streak (18).
- Brodil, Rozenblum and Snow each recorded three hits. Snow’s 19 multi-hit games this season lead the Bulls.
- Tuesday was the second time this season USF has overcome a six-run deficit (3/17 vs. Army). The Bulls also overcame a five-run deficit in the ninth inning at nationally-ranked Florida this season – USF used a seven-run rally in that victory.
- Tuesday was the Bulls’ first extra-inning win of the season (1-4).
- USF has notched three wins over Top 25 opponents this year.
Up Next
The Bulls advance into the winner’s bracket of the tournament and have a day off on Wednesday before returning to play on Thursday, May 25 against UCF at 1 p.m.
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 –
