TAMPA - The University of South Florida baseball team (20-24 Overall, 11-6 BIG EAST) got a timely home run from sophomore Sam Mende power the Bulls to a 2-1 victory over Seton Hall (15-23-1, 5-12) on Saturday night at Red McEwen Field.

For the second consecutive night, runs were at a premium, as both starting pitchers controlled play by allowing only three combined runs on 13 hits.

Junior Andrew Barbosa (6-2), the Bulls' big left-hander, got the start on Saturday, and he pitched a gem, going 6.0 innings allowing just one run on five hits while striking out three and walking one on the night.

Seton Hall starter Frank Morris (1-5) matched Barbosa through 6.0 innings allowing two runs on six hits while striking out two and walking four but suffered the loss.

Seton Hall manufactured a run in the first on an RBI groundout, but the lone mistake by either starter came on a 2-1 fastball with one out in the fourth, as Mende ripped a Morris pitch deep and out to left to give the Bulls the lead for good.

Mende's blast was the third home run of the year for the sophomore, and his second in the last four  days.

After falling behind before recording an out in the first, the Bulls battled back to earn just their first win of the year after trailing past the second inning, and won just their first one-run game of the year after starting the year 0-10 in one-run games.

Chad Taylor collected a pair hits on the night, going 2-4 at the plate. The two-hit performance was the 10th multi-hit game of the year for Taylor.

The Pirates jumped out on top early.

Michael Rogers, coming off of a three-hit performance on Friday night, led Saturday's game off by getting plunked with a pitch by Barbosa. After a single up the middle by Chris Spagnuolo, both runners advanced a base on a passed ball, and Rogers came into score the game's first run on a groundout to short by Frank Esposito.

From there Barbosa settled in and went on to throw five scoreless innings to complete his night.

The pitcher's duel continued until the bottom half of the fourth. Daniel Rockhold was hit by the first pitch of the inning, before Mende launched a two-run bomb over the left field wall to give USF the 2-1 lead.

From that point on, both bullpens would shut everyone down, including Kevin Quackenbush for the Bulls, who pitched the final 3.0 innings allowing no runs on no hits while striking out one and walking one to earn his fourth save of the year.

The Bulls will look to take the rubber game of the three-game series against Seton Hall, as they battle the Pirates on Sunday at noon.

GAMENOTES
The three strikeouts for Andrew Barbosa against the Pirates ties a season low but it does raise his conference leading total to 84 strikeouts on the year… Barbosa pitched 6.0 innings in the win over Seton Hall, marking the 10th time this season he has pitched at least six innings or more in 11 starts… The win after trailing was just the second come from behind win for the Bulls this year, and the first after trailing after the second inning… The Bulls collected their first one-run win of 2010, they were previously 0-10 in one-run ballgames… Chad Taylor collected a pair of hits in the win, boosting his batting average to .419 in BIG EAST play this season…Taylor has hit safely in his last five games and tallied a hit in each of his last six conference games... Ryan Lockwood singled on Saturday night, marking the first hit for him since returning from a leg injury.