Bulls host Bradley Braves for three-game weekend series
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
University of South Florida (8-5) vs. Bradley University (3-6)
SCHEDULE: Friday, March 11 – 6:30 p.m. | Saturday, March 12 – 2 p.m. | Sunday, March 13 – 1 p.m.
BALLPARK: USF Baseball Stadium | Tampa, Fla.
ALL-TIME SERIES: First meetings
TV: ESPN+
RADIO: iHeart Radio Bulls Unlimited (Saturday & Sunday only)
TWITTER UPDATES: @USFBaseball
GAME NOTES: View
2022 MEDIA GUIDE: View
TAMPA (March 10, 2022) – The University of South Florida Bulls concludes an eight-game homestand this weekend with a three-game weekend series against the Bradley Braves. This marks the second straight, but final time, the Bulls will play five games in a week during the regular season.
South Florida is 8-4 at home this season and is coming off a two-game split with Boston College which saw the Bulls score 19 total runs with seven homers. USF blasted six of those longballs in Wednesday's 11-8 finale, including three in the sixth inning of that ballgame.
Drew Brutcher and Roberto Peña each homered twice in Wednesday's game, while Ben Rozenblum and Matt Ruiz connected on their first home runs of the season. Rozenblum and Brutcher went back-to-back in the sixth inning as Brutcher tallied his second two-homer outing in the last three games.
Brutcher leads the team with six round-trippers and shares the RBI lead (17) with Carmine Lane. Lane is batting a team-best .423 and enters the weekend riding a career-long 13-game hitting streak.
Despite the midweek offensive explosion by Boston College, the USF pitching staff is sporting a 3.91 ERA with 103 strikeouts over 89.2 IP in its last 10 ballgames. The offense is batting .305 with 35 extra-base hits (16 HR) in that 10-game span.
Orion Kerkering has fanned 28 batters over 16.1 IP this season and Hunter Mink has 14 punchouts in 8.0 IP with four saves in his new role at the back of the bullpen.
Pitching Matchup
Friday – RHP Orion Kerkering (2-1, 1.65 ERA) vs. LHP Grant Jausel (0-2, 7.71 ERA)
Saturday – RHP Brad Lord (2-1, 5.40 ERA) vs. RHP Jacob Kisting (1-1, 7.98 ERA)
Sunday – TBD vs. TBD
For tickets, please visit usfbullstix.com or call 1-800-Go-Bulls.
About USF Baseball
The USF Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and is entering its 57th season in 2022. Head coach Billy Mohl is entering his fifth season at the helm. The Bulls have made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, including four since 2015, and earned their first-ever Super Regional berth in 2021. USF was ranked in the Top 25 by five different publications in the final 2021 polls, checking in as high as No. 16. The Bulls have won five conference tournament titles (3 Sun Belt, 1 Metro and 1 American) and six regular season championships (3 Sun Belt, 2 Metro and 1 C-USA). USF baseball players have been recognized with All-America honors 12 times, most recently with third baseman David Villar in 2018, and 18 have earned Freshman All-America accolades, most recently Drew Brutcher and Carmine Lane in 2021. Four players were selected in the 2018 MLB Draft, including the program's fourth first-round selection in pitcher Shane McClanahan, who made his Major League debut with the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2020 World Series and was the Rays' postseason game one starter in 2021.
– #GoBulls –
