Bobby Boser hit his first collegiate homer run in Tuesday night’s 7-0 win.
TAMPA (March 1, 2022) – The University of South Florida (5-2) pitching staff turned in its first shutout of the season and the Bulls’ offense remained hot in a 7-0 victory over FIU (7-3) on Tuesday night at USF Baseball Stadium.
Orion Kerkering (Venice), Joseph Sanchez (Miami) and Devin Hemenway (Niceville) combined to blank the FIU Panthers while allowing just five total hits and striking out 11 batters.
Making his second career start, and first of the season, Kerkering (1-1) matched a career high with nine strikeouts over the longest outing of his career (5.1 IP). He also struck out nine batters in his first relief appearance this season against UConn (4.0 IP).
Carmine Lane (Lake Placid) staked Kerkering to an early 1-0 lead with his first of two RBI-doubles on the night in the bottom of the first inning. Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) made it a 2-0 game with a sac fly in the second frame and the Bulls tacked on two more runs in the third for a 4-0 advantage.
Brutcher’s RBI-single in the fourth inning made it a 5-0 ballgame before Lane struck again with a run-scoring double in the seventh for a 6-0 lead.
Bobby Boser (Wesley Chapel) connected on his first collegiate home run in the eighth inning to cap the scoring.
Notable
- South Florida led the AAC and tied for 15th in the NCAA with six shutouts in 2021.
- Lane recorded his fourth multi-RBI game of the season and leads the team with 12 driven in.
- Ben Rozenblum (Coral Springs) saw his six-game hitting streak come to an end, but he drew three walks against his former team.
- The Bulls stole three bases and are now 11-13 on the season in stolen base attempts.
- USF is outscoring its opponents 33-5 over the last three games.
Up Next
The Bulls travel to UNF on Wednesday for their first road game of the season. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m. in Jacksonville.
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.
– #GoBulls –
