By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, FEB. 7, 2017 – Excited would be an understatement when it comes to how the Bulls are feeling with baseball season now only 10 days away.
“We want to get this season going,” head coach Mark Kingston said at media day Tuesday afternoon. “I'm jealous that softball gets to start in two days and we still have to wait a little bit longer. We're raring to go.”
Opening day will have a much different feel than last season for USF, which heads into 2017 much healthier, especially from a pitching standpoint. Speaking at media day was senior right-hander Phoenix Sanders, who is competing for a spot in the weekend rotation with a much larger group this spring that includes healthy arms in freshman Shane McClanahan and junior Peter Strzelecki.
“I think our pitching is far ahead of where we were last year,” Kingston said. “… I feel a lot better about our options going into the season. No disrespect to last year's team, but we had to deal with a lot of adversity. So far this year, guys appear to be at full strength and we've seen a lot of improvement on the pitching staff.”
USF will have no shortage of speed on the base paths with the return of infielder Kevin Merrell, who also met with the local media Tuesday afternoon. Merrell, a junior from Odessa, Fla., stole 37 bases the past two seasons and has improved his gap-to-gap power, which could help boost a lineup that's already packed with pop.
“We've played five intersquad games so far this spring and we have 10 home runs,” Kingston said. “We have a power team. Now we have to make sure we're getting on base enough to take advantage of that.”
USF's first chance to drive in some runs is the season-opening series against Iowa that begins Friday, Feb. 17 at USF Baseball Stadium. Kingston declared his Bulls ready to go after missing out on NCAA Regionals last season and they'll be playing with a chip on their shoulders after being picked to finish sixth in The American preseason coaches' poll.
“I happen to think that we're going to be better than most people think,” Kingston said. “We're going to have to go out on the field and prove it. Is it motivation? Maybe for the guys it is, but I think last year was enough motivation for us to bounce back this year.”
Fans can purchase season tickets, flex plans and single-game tickets at USFBullsTix.com or by calling 1-800-Go-Bulls.
About USF Baseball
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 in 2015 for the first time in 13 years and USF followed that success with a consensus Top 10 recruiting class. Five players from that recruiting class were everyday starters in 2016 including outfielder Chris Chatfield (Riverview, Fla.), who led the team in home runs, and catcher Joe Genord (Lake Worth, Fla.), who was named the 2016 PGCBL Player of the Year. 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), visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information, and purchase tickets for upcoming games at USFBullsTix.com .
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