The Bulls have now won six consecutive games.
TAMPA, APRIL 1, 2025- The University of South Florida baseball team (17-9; 5-1 AAC) battled to a 9-7 victory over the visiting Bethune Cookman Wildcats (14-15; 7-2 SWAC) in a mid-week game on Tuesday evening at the USF Baseball Stadium.
Bethune-Cookman opened the game with a one-out solo home run in the first inning. The Bulls quickly responded in the bottom of the first. Lance Trippel delivered an emphatic three-run inside-the-park home run to give the Bulls the lead.
The Wildcats struck again, with a second run coming home following a leadoff triple. The visitors tied the game on a passed ball three batters later. A furious second frame continued by the go-ahead run coming home on a throwing error. The Bethune-Cookman lead was doubled with an RBI single two pitches later.
Sebastian Greico led the response from the Bulls in the bottom of the second inning. The Bulls first baseman smashed a two-run home run over the right-field fence to tie the game at five.
Bethune-Cookman looked poised to blow the game open in the third inning. Stewart Puckett had something to say about that, as he turned an unassisted double play to keep the inning scoreless.
South Florida took its’ second lead of the night after Carlos Jacome drove in Bradke Lohry with a sacrifice fly in the third inning.
South Florida added to its lead in the sixth inning. Marcus Brodil drove in two with a one-out single to stretch the lead to three. A sacrifice fly brought home the Bull’s ninth run as they took a four-run lead into the seventh inning.
The Wildcats cut the lead in half with a two-run home run into the Bull’s bullpen in the eighth inning. The Bulls managed to hold off the late rally and clinch their sixth consecutive win.
South Florida sent a trio of pitchers to the mound in the first three innings. LHP Corban Little had the most productive outing, pitching three scoreless innings and striking out two batters. RHP James Hill pitched three innings and struck out two batters.
Key Stats:
- Trippel hit his fourth home run of the season.
- Trippel recorded his fifth multi-RBI game of the season.
- Greico hit his team-leading eighth home run of the season.
- Greico recorded his team-leading ninth multi-RBI game of the season.
- Greico recorded his seventh multi-hit game of the season.
- Greico produced his best-hitting performance of the season, going four-for-five.
- Jacome recorded his sixth multi-hit game of the season.
- Brodil produced his team-leading twelfth multi-hit game of the season.
- Little earned the first win of his career.
Notables:
- Trippel’s first inning inside the park home run was the first since Garrett Zech did so vs. Tulane on March 29, 2018.
- Greico tied his career-high total of four hits in a game.
- Greico is the fourth Bull to have a four-hit performance in 2025.
- RHP Nolan Bernard earned the first start of his career.
- Jacome has multiple hits in five of his last seven games.
- Anthony Quigley reached base for the first time in his career in the third inning on an error.
- Quigley drove in the first run of his career.
- South Florida has now won 10 consecutive games against Bethune-Cookman.
Up Next:
South Florida will hit the road for a three-game AAC series against the Memphis Tigers this weekend, April 4-6. The first pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m., and all three games will be streamed on ESPN+.
Tickets:
Tickets to watch Bulls baseball at the USF Baseball Stadium may be purchased by calling 1-800-GoBulls or clicking HERE.
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About USF Baseball
The South Florida Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and will enter its 60th campaign in 2025. Mitch Hannahs was named South Florida’s eighth head coach in program history on June 8, 2024, after compiling 355 wins over 11 seasons at Indiana State. The 2023 ABCA NCAA DI Midwest Region Coach of the Year guided the Sycamores to six conference titles and five NCAA Regionals. The Bulls have made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances and earned their first-ever Super Regional berth in 2021. 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, and 19 Bulls have earned Freshman All-America accolades. USF has had 131 MLB Draft Picks. Former 2018 first-round draft pick Shane McClanahan is a two-time MLB All-Star.
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