Bulls Host No. 13 Seminoles In Another Marquee Midweek Affair
MATCHUP: USF vs. No 13 Florida State
DATE: Tuesday, Feb. 26, 6:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Tampa, USF Baseball Stadium
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GAME NOTES
TAMPA, FEB. 25, 2019 – The USF baseball team will look to make it two-straight wins over top-15 opponents at USF Baseball Stadium when it hosts No. 13 Florida State Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
The Bulls (3-4) are coming off a tough weekend on the road at No. 6 UNC. USF outhit the Tar Heels, 15-14, but suffered three losses by a combined four runs.
Junior righty
Collin Sullivan (Randolph, Mass.) continued to be effective in his new Friday night role. He tossed 6.2 innings in the opener in Chapel Hill, striking out seven while allowing just one run.
Junior lefty
Logan Lyle (Bartow, Fla.) retired all 10 Tar Heels he faced in relief in the first game of Sunday's doubleheader. He struck out four and was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll Monday. Lyle has allowed just one hit and one walk through his first 5.1 innings with eight strikeouts.
Sophomore
Baron Stuart (Okeechobee, Fla.) will toe the rubber Tuesday against FSU. Stuart tossed 4.0 scoreless and hitless innings with six strikeouts in the 6-1 win against then-No. 5 Florida last Tuesday. The offense had its best game of the year with 12 hits in that win.
The Matchup
Tuesday will mark the 88
th all-time meeting between the Bulls and Seminoles. Florida State owns a decisive 70-17 edge in the series, but USF knocked off their in-state rivals in Tallahassee in 2017, 4-2. It marked USF's first win against FSU since 1989, ending a 15-game skid.
The Seminoles have played in Tampa just three times since 1998, and the 2019 journey will be legendary head coach Mike Martin's last, as he's expected to retire at the end of his 40
th year. A record crowd of 3,615 packed into USF Baseball Stadium to watch the Bulls take on then-No. 2 Florida State in 2014. The Bulls have averaged 2,769 fans in their last three home games against FSU.
Know the Foe
Florida State is ranked in the top-15 in every publication heading into Tuesday, and as high as No. 6 in a couple. The Seminoles are 7-0 and hitting at a high clip. They are fifth nationally, scoring 11 runs per game and fifth with 13 homers. They lead the ACC with a .316 average and 18 doubles.
Freshman outfielder Robby Martin leads the team and ACC with a .536 average and five doubles. He's third in the country with 17 RBI. In total, seven FSU starters are hitting above .300. Reese Albert (.353) has eight RBI and six runs, Mike Salvatore (.333) has four doubles, 10 RBI and seven runs, and Nander De Sedas (.333) has 10 RBI with two homers and nine runs.
Lefty Antonio Velez will get the start for FSU. He's 2-0 with a 1.12 ERA and six strikeouts over 8.0 innings of work.
Nota-Bulls
- Freshman Nick Gonzalez (Tampa) leads USF with a .300 average.
- Senior Kyle Phillips (Orlando) leads the Bulls with six RBI and two doubles, hitting .286.
Bulls Bits
- DID YOU KNOW?: USF has the only Division I coaching staff in the state of Florida in which every member was selected in the MLB Draft – head coach Billy Mohl (2006, Philadelphia); assistants Chuck Jeroloman (2004, Boston), Chris Cates (2007, Minnesota), Brian Jeroloman(2006, Toronto). The Bulls' coaching staff has a combined 25 years of playing experience in pro baseball.
- FLORIDA'S FINEST: The Bulls knocked off the Seminoles and Gators on the road in the 2017, marking the first time in program history that USF defeated both on the road in the same year. The Bulls can defeat both teams in the same season with another marquee victory Tuesday night. If it happens, it would be the first time since 1989 that USF bested both programs at home in the same year.
About USF Baseball
The University of South Florida baseball team is one of the fastest rising programs in the country. The Bulls reached the NCAA Regionals in 2015 for the first time in 13 years and followed that success with a 42-19 record and second NCAA regional trip in three years in 2017. The Bulls continued the success under first-year head coach Billy Mohl in 2018, reaching 36 wins and advancing to the semifinals of the conference tournament for the first time since 2012, while being ranked in multiple polls for the final two months. USF earned its third NCAA Regional berth in the last four seasons and had six all-conference selections in 2018. The team had four players drafted in the 2018 MLB Draft, including the program's fourth first rounder, Shane McClanahan. Junior third baseman David Villar was taken in the 11th round after tallying 24 doubles and hitting better than .370, being named first team all-conference and an All-American. The USF Baseball program has won five conference titles and the Bulls have made 13 NCAA appearances.
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