USF Athletics

Young Bulls Benefit From Valuable Experience in 2020

March 31, 2020

By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, MARCH 31, 2020 – USF's shortened 2020 baseball season served as a prime opportunity for future stars to shine in the present, mended arms to show they still got it and the entire group of Bulls to stick together from start to finish.

Meanwhile, third-year head coach Billy Mohl and his staff were busy guiding and getting ideas for the future during the Bulls' abbreviated stretch that lasted 17 games.

Penciling in as many as five freshmen on the lineup card daily and starting young pitchers right away, USF learned as the schedule rolled on.

"I think it was great they got the experience," Mohl said. "They know what it looks like now. They know the expectations and what it's like during the season. That's a huge benefit for them coming back next year."

With new-look roster consisting of 12 newcomers (nine true freshmen) and underclassmen making up more than half of it, USF matched up with Power Five opponents nine times. Road trips definitely got the Bulls battle-tested at locations like Florida (three games), No. 6 Miami and No. 12 Florida State.

"It put us up against some of the best competition in the country," said Mohl of the schedule. "It provided us with a litmus test of where we were at and where we needed to be."

Facing in-state powerhouses, USF showed it could hang tough with Florida in the series finale, a 2-1 loss on March 8. Against FSU, the Bulls took a 3-0 lead into the fourth and they were tied through five in a 7-3 setback on Feb. 8. USF's clash in Coral Gables on Feb. 26 saw the determined away team jump out to another early lead and also rally back before the Hurricanes walked off with a 7-5 win in the bottom of the ninth.

"Besides the two Florida games on Friday and Saturday, we were in every single game," said Mohl of Power Five tests.

USF tallied up a trio of signature wins against Big Ten foe Northwestern and busted out the bats in a 12-8 victory over ACC opponent Pitt on March 10.

Unfortunately, the season came to an abrupt end two days later due to the continued effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 virus. USF split its final eight games to finish with a 6-11 record and a lot of what-ifs.

One thing is certain, both then and now. USF's strong #CarryTheBoat bond never broke and continues to this day in virtual team meetings. 

"It told me everything about this team when I went into the locker room on that Friday and told them our season was not gonna be there," Mohl said. "Watching how those guys reacted and the love they had for one another, they're such a tight-knit group. It makes this time a little bit easier for all of us."

Pitching Proved to Be a Strength
USF's pitching proved to be a strength in 2020, even with first-year Bulls making five starts and Carson Ragsdale and Graham Hoffman returning from Tommy John surgery.

Mohl was pleasantly surprised, especially with Ragsdale, who finished second in the AAC with 37 strikeouts through 19.0 innings and went 1-0 in four starts. The senior right-hander from nearby Wesley Chapel limited opponents to a .171 average and ranked highly on the team with a 2.84 ERA.

Ragsdale completed his season in strong fashion, striking out 10 batters and surrendering just one run through four innings at No. 1 Florida on March 8. 

"For him to come back the way he was, 92 to 95, and what he did against Florida on Sunday, nobody else in the country had done that against the Gators up until that point," Mohl said. "That was encouraging. That was why we were gonna move him to Friday."

Freshman Jack Jasiak showed he wasn't afraid of the stage on Saturdays. The right-hander from Spring Hill, Fla., struck out 20 batters in his first two starts that both went at least seven innings. Jasiak (2-2) finished with 28 strikeouts in a team-high 23.1 innings and made three quality starts overall.

"As a freshman coming in, being asked to start on Saturdays in one of the top five RPI leagues in the country, he had tons of success," Mohl said. 

Graham Hoffman proved to be dependable once again after missing most of last season due to Tommy John surgery. The redshirt sophomore from Tampa picked up a save in the series opener against Northwestern on Feb. 28 and had four scoreless outings through five appearances (5.0 innings).

Dylan Burns was another returner in the midst of a solid season. The senior right-hander from Vero Beach, Fla., secured one of USF's three saves and sported a 1.42 ERA through 12.2 innings over eight appearances.

Seventeen games gave Mohl a pretty good idea about the direction of the Bulls' staff that was tied for eighth nationally with 201 strikeouts through 153.1 frames.

"We were starting to figure some things," he said. "We were gonna flip the rotation around for conference play and make some adjustments."

A Look at the Offense
USF will look to improve its offensive production in 2021 after giving freshman Bulls some valuable experience at the plate this spring.

Carmine Lane (Lake Placid, Fla.), Dontae Mitchell (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Daniel Cantu (Jacksonville, Fla.) combined for 116 at-bats and the trio totaled 35 starts.

Dillon Besnier was another freshman with at least 29 at-bats and the outfielder from Apollo Beach, Fla., led the Bulls with two homers.

"It was their first season and they were being asked to do a lot in terms of production," said Mohl of the freshmen. "It was just one of those things where you had to keep grinding and grinding."

While youth got acclimated to D-I pitching, redshirt junior led Riley Hogan (Orlando) led the team with a .271 batting average in his first season since his final South Carolina campaign in 2018.

"Riley Hogan started off slowly and then he started to get it going a little bit," Mohl said.

The same could be said for senior Jordan Santos, who batted .363 over the last four games and reached base in each of the final nine outings.

USF had four more games to keep figuring things out at the plate before conference play when the season ended. Looking ahead, Mohl is optimistic.

"You return a core of your offensive guys who played a lot," he said. "Then, you have a top-50 recruiting class on top of that."

Division I Council Provides Clearer Picture for Future
Fortunately for the Bulls, most of their 2020 roster could still be intact for next season. On Monday, the NCAA Division I Council voted to allow schools to provide student-athletes in spring sports an additional season of competition and an extension of their period of eligibility. Learn more HERE.

More details still have to be worked out at universities, but the news is a notable boost for members USF's 2020 senior class who want to return.

"A big relief was those seniors get to come back again to finish what they started," Mohl said.
 
About USF Baseball
The University of South Florida baseball program is one of the fastest rising programs in the country. The Bulls earned their third NCAA Regional berth in the last four seasons and had six all-conference selections in 2018. Four players were selected in the 2018 MLB Draft, including the program's fourth first rounder, pitcher Shane McClanahan. Third baseman David Villar was taken in the 11th round after being named first team all-conference and an All-American. 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 in head coach Billy Mohl first season 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 of the season. The USF Baseball program has won five conference titles and the Bulls have made 13 NCAA appearances.