Like USF Baseball on Facebook
Follow @USFBaseball on Twitter

GAINESVILLE (May 31, 2015)— A season for the books came to an end Sunday afternoon as the USF baseball team fell 8-4 to FAU in the Gainesville Regional of the NCAA Tournament.

The Bulls ended their season with a 34-26-1 overall record under first year head coach Mark Kingston, and their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2002 

“I think it's the building blocks of a very bright future for us,” Kingston said. “I want to thank everyone who got us to this point. Our administration, our athletic director, Lelo Prado and his staff, our coaches and our players, especially our seniors who just put so much into this season. I think we're going to do some really great thing moving forward.”

The Bulls defeated FAU, 5-3, in the opening game of the regional to advance to the winner's bracket to face host Florida. USF fell 8-2 in that game to setup a rematch with FAU on Sunday.

USF got on the board in the third inning, striking for three runs. Back-to-back singles from Luke Maglich and Levi Borders placed two on with just one out. Buddy Putnam drew a walk and the Bulls loaded the bases for the second time in the game. Unlike the first inning that ended with a bases loaded strikeout, Luke Borders knocked a double into the gap in right field to plate Maglich and Levi and tie the game.

Austin Lueck put the Bulls on top, following up Luke's double with an RBI single of his own to make it 3-2.

The Bulls would load the bases once again in the fourth inning. A pair of free bases in the form of a hit-by-pitch and walk, and a single by Levi Borders juiced the bases for Putnam. On a 1-1 count, the senior first basemen singled to centerfield to drive home Teaf and put the Bulls up 4-2.

The Owls took the early lead as they struck for two runs in the top of the first inning. After a leadoff hit-by-pitch, Brendon Sanger homered to right field to put FAU up 2-0.

FAU would take the lead back on a grand slam by Roman Collins. A single and pair of walks loaded the bases with no outs before Collins hit the first pitch he saw over the right field wall. USF starter Casey Mulholland would respond with a pair of strikeouts and a groundout to get out of the inning with no further damage.

The Owls would plate another two runs on three hits in the bottom of the seventh to take an 8-4 lead.

Maglich went 3-for-4 at the plate with a run and a walk. Lueck was 2-for-4 with an RBI and Buddy Putnam was 1-for-2 with three walks, one run scored and an RBI.

Mulholland took the loss, giving up six runs on five hits, while striking out five, in six innings of work. Michael Farley, Brandon Lawson and Tommy Peterson each pitched an inning of relief.

“This team fought so hard,” Kingston said. “They maximized our ability 99 percent of the time. The team we had this year set the standard for how baseball should be played at USF in terms of effort, preparation and commitment. The names will change, but the standard this team set this year is exactly what it will be moving forward.”

- #GoBulls -