Four-run First Fuels Series Win for USF Baseball

Baseball March 19, 2016 USF

Lawson's Gem Guides USF to 2-0 Win over No. 25 MSU

TAMPA (MARCH 19, 2016) – Pitcher Brandon Lawson (Brooksville, Fla.) threw 7.1 scoreless innings to propel the University of South Florida baseball team (11-9) to a 2-0 victory over No. 25 Michigan State (14-2) on Saturday night. The junior right-hander yielded just five hits and two walks on the night, striking out eight Spartans batters in the series-tying performance.

“I felt comfortable out on the mound tonight and every pitch was working,” said Lawson. “We had a good game plan of what we were going to do and I couldn't have done this without the team behind me. They played great defense.”

The Bulls rallied in the first inning against MSU's starting pitcher Ethan Landon. Outfielder Luke Maglich (Sarasota, Fla.) drew a one-out walk, moved to second on a defensive error and scored on the RBI single from infielder Duke Stunkel Jr. (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.).

Ahead 1-0, USF added a run in the second inning on a Kevin Merrell (Odessa, Fla.) sacrifice fly.

The early scoring benefitted Lawson, who held the Spartans hitless over the first four innings.

After yielding his first hit in the fifth, Lawson then encountered a two-on, one-out jam. The junior responded by striking out back-to-back hitters and maintaining the 2-0 Bulls advantage.

USF looked to extend the lead in the seventh but MSU threw a runner out at the plate and reliever Dakota Mekkes left the bases loaded.

Down 2-0, Michigan State rallied again in the eighth putting two men aboard with one out. The Bulls then turned to reliever Tommy Eveld (Tampa, Fla.), who induced a flyout and a groundout to end the Spartans' opportunity. Eveld also faced the tying run in the ninth, but struck out catcher Matt Byers to finalize the victory.

“Lawson and Eveld were outstanding tonight and I thought that was Lawson's best outing,” said USF head baseball coach Mark Kingston. “When you pitch and play defense, you only need a couple runs to win and that is what we did tonight,”

This was the first Bulls win over a ranked team since defeating #21 Florida Atlantic by a score of 5-3 on May 29, 2015.

Lawson (3-0) remains undefeated with the win. His eight strikeouts give him a total of 46 in just 32.0 innings pitched. Eveld tossed the final 1.2 innings for his fourth save of the season.

Stunkel Jr. and outfielder Garrett Zech (Naples, Fla.) notched two hits each for the Bulls.

USF eyes a series win on Sunday at 12 p.m. Right-hander Joe Cavallaro (Venice, Fla.) will start for the Bulls against Spartans righty Walter Borkovich.

Reserve your seats at USFBullsTix.com.

The University of South Florida baseball team is one of the fastest rising programs in the country. Under the guidance of first year head coach Mark Kingston, the Bulls reached the NCAA Regionals last season for the first time in 13 years and USF followed that success with a consensus Top 10 recruiting class. The team returns outfielder Kevin Merrell, who was named an NCBWA Freshmen All-American last season after leading the Bulls in batting average (.346), runs (45), hits (83) and stolen bases (21). Senior catcher Levi Borders and senior outfielder Luke Maglich were both selected to the 2016 Preseason All-Conference Team in the AAC. The USF Baseball program has won five conference titles and the Bulls have made 11 NCAA appearances. Follow the baseball team on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information.