Austin Grause made his first start for the Bulls on Wednesday night in Jacksonville.
JACKSONVILLE (March 2, 2022) – The University of South Florida (5-3) dropped its first road game of the season on Wednesday night, 2-1, at the University of North Florida (2-8). The Ospreys walked off with the victory on a two-out solo homer in the bottom of the ninth inning.
The Bulls entered the contest on a four-game winning streak with a red-hot offense that had scored 36 runs over the last four games, including seven just 24 hours prior at home against FIU.
UNF’s Tony Roca stymied the South Florida lineup all night though, and blanked the Bulls while allowing just two hits and striking out eight over 7.0 IP.
Trailing 1-0 in the eighth inning, after Roca had yielded to the bullpen, Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) unleashed on 3-0 pitch with two outs and promptly tied the game with an opposite-field home run.
Unfortunately, the Ospreys responded in the same manner with two outs in the ninth with a game-ending home run.
Jack Cebert (Tampa) was charged with the loss on the mound for USF, but turned in a fantastic relief appearance in his second straight outing. Cebert (1-2) entered the game with two on and no out in the bottom of the seventh and the Bulls trailing 1-0. The freshman right-hander struck out a pair and escaped the inning without any damage which led to Brutcher’s game-tying homer.
Cebert struck out four total batters over 2.2 IP and allowed just the one hit.
Fellow rookie Austin Grause (Tampa) made his first start for USF and tossed 2.2 scoreless innings. He is yet to allow a run this season over three appearances (4.2 IP).
Notable
- Brutcher accounted for two of USF’s three hits on the night.
- The Bulls’ pitching staff owns a 1.44 ERA (7 ER/44.2 IP) over the last five games.
Up Next
The Bulls return home this weekend to open an eight-game homestand beginning with a weekend series against Brown University. First pitch of that three-game series is set for 7 p.m. on Friday, March 4.
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.
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