Kingston's Bulls Doing What It Takes to Win in 2015
April 29, 2015 | Baseball
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, APRIL 29, 2015 – First-year head coach Mark Kingston and his staff have been focused on getting the most out of the Bulls since they arrived in Tampa last June and USF baseball has stepped up to the plate in terms of production.
USF (28-16-1) topped last season's wins total last Friday against Houston and success has the Bulls in the driver's seat with 11 games to go before the American Athletic Conference tournament takes place in Clearwater. USF has been in first place through the first five weeks of league play and the Bulls are determined to stay there heading into a three-game weekend series at rival UCF.
“The transition for us and the players has been very good,” Kingston said. “Our relationships are good and I think they've tried to do everything we've asked them to do. To be in a position that we are in right now down the home stretch, I don't think we could have asked for any more.”
Before the Bulls get their series started with the Knights 6:30 p.m. Friday in Orlando, let's take a look at some of the key ingredients to USF's winning formula so far this season.
Homer-Happy Bulls
Two round-trippers from Levi Borders and another from Luke Maglich last Saturday against Houston brought the Bulls' home run tally up to 31 this season. USF hit a combined 26 home runs the past two seasons and this season's total marks the program's most since sending 41 out of the park in 2010.
Borders' nine home runs have matched USF's team total from last season. Maglich and Buddy Putnam aren't far behind the team lead with seven homers and senior Austin Lueck has a career high of five.
“We've hit a tremendous amount of home runs this year in comparison to last year,” Kingston said. “I think that's because of the new ball and it's because guys are stronger. I think guys are smarter and they're looking for the right pitches due to natural development.”
USF Thriving in Close Games
Kingston has been very detail oriented in practice this season and doing the little things right has led to success in crunch time.
USF is 12-2-1 in games decided by two runs or less this year compared to last season's record of 13-18 in those types of situations.
“The big thing with us is we know we're going to be in a lot of close games,” Kingston said. “We're trying to do everything we can to prepare for those situations, whether it's bunting, whether it's defense or whether it's how to pitch guys in certain situations. We've just spent a lot of time working on how to win close games.”
Bulls Swiping More Bases
Turning up the heat on an opposing team's defense has been a goal for USF this season and the Bulls have been aggressive on the base paths.
USF's total of 59 steals is the program's most since the 2005 squad swiped 60. Freshman speedster Kevin Merrell ranks fourth in the conference with 16 steals while Maglich and senior Kyle Teaf have 12 apiece. As a team, USF ranks fourth in the league with 75 stolen base attempts and the Bulls have been successful 79 percent of the time.
“From a speed standpoint, we've tried to be as aggressive as we can be to try to put pressure on the defense and I think that's helped us,” Kingston said.
Aggressive Pitching Staff
Under the tutelage of pitching coach Billy Mohl, USF's staff leads The American with 400 strikeouts and the Bulls rank ninth nationally with 9.00 per nine innings.
Ace Jimmy Herget (7-1) ranks second in the conference with 87 strikeouts and the junior right-hander needs four more to top his 2014 total.
“We know Jimmy Herget is one of the best pitchers in the country. He's done nothing this year to change anybody's opinion on that,” Kingston said. “His strikeouts have gone up this year and he's been a very reliable Friday night starter.”
Sophomore Tommy Peterson (4-1) has racked up 43 strikeouts in 33.2 innings and the closer is tied for second in the nation with 13 saves. Peterson was one of 39 players named to the midseason watch list for the 11th annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award.
“There is something to be said about coming into a ninth inning situation where you're up by a run with runners on base or not. It's definitely an adrenaline rush and it's something I like,” Peterson said.
Home Sweet Home
Bulls fans have had a lot to cheer about while attending games at USF Baseball this season. USF is 20-6-1 at home this season and had the longest home winning streak in the nation at one point in the year.
“It's such a beautiful stadium, we're comfortable here and I think we have a lot of pride knowing that a lot of people put in a lot of work to put that thing up,” Kingston said. “I think it's on us to make sure we play extremely hard and have the best success we can just to show everybody how appreciative we are. We're very comfortable in this stadium and we need to see that continue.”
Following an eight-game road trip, fans can watch the Bulls wrap up their home slate with a three game series against UCF May 14-16. Reserve your seats by purchasing tickets HERE.
