USF Baseball opens AAC play with War On I-4 in Orlando
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
University of South Florida (18-7) vs. UCF (15-10)
SCHEDULE: Friday, April 1 – 6 p.m. | Saturday, April 2 – 6 p.m. | Sunday, April 3 – 1 p.m.
BALLPARK: John Euliano Park | Orlando, Fla.
ALL-TIME SERIES: USF leads, 79-74
TV: ESPN+
RADIO: iHeart Radio Bulls Unlimited
LIVE STATS: View
TWITTER UPDATES: @USFBaseball
GAME NOTES: View
2022 MEDIA GUIDE: View
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TAMPA (March 31, 2022) – The University of South Florida Bulls and UCF Knights renew their War On I-4 rivalry on opening weekend of American Athletic Conference action in Orlando for a three-game series.
UCF claimed the season series a year ago, 5-4, but the biggest win of the series belonged to South Florida by claiming the AAC Championship Game in Clearwater, 8-7, to punch the Bulls' ticket to the program's 14th NCAA Regional and spark USF's historic postseason run to the Super Regional.
The Bulls enter the weekend with the best overall record among AAC teams, riding a six-game winning streak and are winners of nine of their last 10 games.
Reigning AAC Player of the Week Roberto Pena is batting .357 with six extra-base hits (three HR) and 14 RBI over the last 10 games. He has also draw 12 walks and posted a .571 OBP with 12 runs scored.
Drew Brutcher has reached base safely in all 25 games this season and leads the AAC in homer (9), walks (24) and OBP (.513). His OBP ranks 41st in the NCAA. Carmine Lane leads the league in in RBI (33) and total bases (68).
The longest-tenured Bull, Nick Gonzalez, has also had a hot bat of late and is hitting .421 over his last seven games. True freshman Jackson Mayo has three homers and eight RBI over his last 10 games.
The AAC Pitcher of the Week Orion Kerkering is set to start on the mound for USF on Friday night at UCF. Kerkering ranks 20th in the NCAA early this season with 51 strikeouts despite only logging 35.0 IP to date. Brad Lord is also scheduled to start for the Bulls this weekend. Lord struck out six and allowed just one hit over 4.0 IP in his Sunday start last weekend.
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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 –
