The Bulls have won four straight weekend series.
TAMPA (March 20, 2022) – For the second Sunday in a row, Carmine Lane (Lake Placid) delivered a series clinching walk-off hit for the University of South Florida (13-7) as the Bulls claimed the three-game finale, 3-2, over (RV) Mercer University (16-4) at USF Baseball Stadium.
South Florida overcame a three-run deficit in the ninth inning on Sunday, and scored the tying and game-winning runs with two outs in the frame. The Bulls have now won four consecutive weekend series.
It was a quiet offensive day for both sides until USF put together a comeback win in the ninth for the second straight weekend. Mercer scored an unearned run in the top of the first inning on Sunday and added a solo home run in the fourth. The Bears and Bulls entered the ninth inning with just five hits apiece as pitching took center stage in the finale.
That was until Matt Ruiz (Hialeah) singled with one out in the bottom of the ninth to spark the USF rally. Jackson Mayo (St. Johns) and Roberto Peña (Caracas, Venezuela) each followed with walks to load the bases. Daniel Cantu (Jacksonville) drove in the Bulls’ first run of the day with a sacrifice fly for the second out of the inning.
USF reloaded the bases when Joaquin Monque (Weston) was hit by a pitch and with Jarrett Eaton (Mobile, Ala.) at the plate, the Mercer pitcher uncorked a wild pitch to allow Mayo to race home for the tying run. Eaton was later hit by a pitch as well to load the bases once more and Lane proceeded to bounce his walk-off single up the middle.
Jack Jasiak (Spring Hill) returned to the hill for Sunday’s start after having last weekend off for some additional rest ahead of the upcoming conference slate. The right-hander struck out four batters over 3.1 IP.
Hunter Mink (Palm Harbor) and Nolan Hudi (Safety Harbor) relieved Jasiak and blanked the potent Bear offense for the remainder of the ballgame. Mink turned in his longest relief outing of the season (3.2 IP) and has yet to be scored on this year over 13.2 IP. Hudi (2-1) earned the victory after allowing just one hit and striking out two batters over the final 2.0 IP.
Notable
- Mercer entered the weekend series with the No. 23 RPI in the NCAA and was receiving votes in a pair of national polls.
- The Bears were averaging over 10 runs/game (top 10 in the NCAA) and hadn’t scored fewer than three in a game this year until USF held them to two runs (one earned) on both Friday and Sunday.
- South Florida’s four series wins to date match their total for the entire regular season last year.
- The Bulls 13th win last season didn’t come until April 17th.
- Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) set a new career high by reaching base safely for the 20th consecutive game.
- Nelson Rivera (Toa Alto, Puerto Rico) extended his hitting streak to nine games.
Up Next
The Bulls travel to Fort Myers on Tuesday to take on Florida Gulf Coast University before returning home for another three-game series next weekend in Tampa again Niagara. First pitch on Tuesday is set for 6:30 p.m.
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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