Daniel Cantu went 4-for-5 with two doubles, a homer and five RBI on Saturday.
TAMPA (March 25, 2023) – The University of South Florida Bulls (9-15) bounced back from a disappointing loss on Friday night in a big way with a 9-0 victory over the VCU Rams (11-12) on Saturday afternoon at USF Baseball Stadium. Hunter Mink (Palm Harbor) and Nolan Hudi (Safety Harbor) combined on a four-hit shutout while Daniel Cantu (Jacksonville) went 4-for-5 with two doubles, a homer and a career-high five RBI.
After dropping the series opener on Friday, 18-3, the South Florida pitching staff posted its first shutout of the season.
Cantu put the Bulls on the board with a two-out RBI double in the bottom of the first inning and drove home a pair in the third inning with a double to the opposite field on another clutch two-out hit.
John Montes (Toa Alto, Puerto Rico) made it a 5-0 affair with a two-run single in the fourth frame and Eric Snow (Forsyth, Ga.) capped the three-run inning with a run-scoring hit to stretch the USF lead to 6-0.
Marcus Brodil (Dunedin) doubled with two outs in the bottom of the fifth and was chased home on a double to the right-center field gap by Jackson Mayo (St. Johns).
Cantu put the exclamation point on his huge day with a two-run homer in the sixth inning.
On the mound, H. Mink (4-2) tossed six shutout innings while allowing three hits and striking out six batters. Hudi notched his first save of the season with three innings of shutout work and five strikeouts. Three of VCU’s four hits on the afternoon were infield singles.
Notable
- USF tossed its first shutout since March 4, 2022 against Brown.
- Cantu’s five RBI are the most by a Bull since Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) on May 25, 2022 against Tulane.
- Brutcher went 1-for-4 with a walk on Saturday and has reached base safely in 20 consecutive games.
- Montes has 11 RBI over his last seven games.
- Snow extended his hitting streak to nine straight games.
Up Next
The Bulls and Rams play the rubber match of their three-game series on Sunday, March 26 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 –
