Ethan Brown earned his second win in his longest outing of the season.
NEW ORLEANS, La. (April 10, 2022) – The University of South Florida Bulls (19-13, 1-5 AAC) snapped their losing skid with a 13-8 victory in the finale of a three-game weekend series at Tulane University (22-10-1, 5-1 AAC). The Bulls’ victory also halted a six-game winning streak by the Green Wave.
Tied at 1-1 after two innings, South Florida broke the deadlock with four runs in the fourth, added three more in the fifth, and answered a furious Tulane rally in the sixth with three more in the seventh.
Nick Gonzalez (Tampa) put the Bulls in front with an RBI-single in the fourth to score Joaquin Monque (Weston) who doubled to lead off the inning. Carmine Lane (Lake Placid) followed with a three-run home run to give USF a 5-1 lead.
Monque homered in the fifth and Matt Ruiz (Hialeah) recorded a bases-loaded walk later in the inning to stretch the Bulls’ advantage to 8-1.
The Green Wave exploded to six runs in the bottom of the sixth to suddenly make it an 8-7 ballgame, but the Bulls responded with a three spot in the top of the seventh with some small ball.
Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) and Ruiz tallied back-to-back two out walks and Jackson Mayo (St. Johns) added the first insurance run with an infield single. Roberto Peña (Caracas, Venezuela) reached safely next, and chased home another run, on a dropped-third strike. Daniel Cantu (Jacksonville) capped the seventh frame with another infield single as he hustled down the line and slid in safely headfirst at first base.
Mayo provided the exclamation point for the offense on Sunday after the Bulls were shutout on Saturday with a two-run homer in the top of the ninth.
USF drew seven walks in the game, launched three home runs and finally had the ball bounce their way to snap a six-game skid. On Saturday, the Green Wave chased down several well-hit USF balls in the gaps and with catches crashing into the outfield wall. On Sunday, USF scored its first run of the day on a bloop double by Marcus Brodil (Dunedin) and the Bulls were able to harness that momentum in the victory.
Ethan Brown (Winter Gardens) made his second straight weekend start and picked up his first win in the new role. Brown (2-0) turned in his longest out of the season, logging 5.0 IP and allowing one run on six hits with four strikeouts.
Hunter Mink (Palm Harbor) also delivered his longest relief appearance of the season to nail down his sixth save of the season. H. Mink struck out three over 4.0 IP.
Notable
- Gonzalez went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI.
- Lane, Mayo, Monque and Ruiz each recorded a pair of hits.
- Lane added to his AAC-leading RBI total and now has 39 on the year.
- Lane leads USF with 14 multi-hit games this season.
Up Next
The Bulls return to Tampa to open a four-game homestand at USF Baseball Stadium. South Florida hosts Florida Gulf Coast University on Tuesday, April 12 at 6 p.m. before welcoming Memphis on April 14-16 for the Bulls’ first home conference series of the season.
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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