USF Baseball set for weekend series in Cincinnati
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
University of South Florida (21-16, 2-7 AAC) at Cincinnati (16-19, 6-3 AAC)
SCHEDULE: Friday, April 22 – 5 p.m. | Saturday, April 23 – 4 p.m. | Sunday, April 24 – 12 p.m.
BALLPARK: UC Baseball Stadium | Cincinnati, Ohio
ALL-TIME SERIES: USF leads, 48-25
TV: ESPN+
RADIO: iHeart Radio Bulls Unlimited
LIVE STATS: View
TWITTER UPDATES: @USFBaseball
GAME NOTES: View
2022 MEDIA GUIDE: View
CINCINNATI, Ohio (April 21, 2022) – The University of South Florida Bulls wrap up a stretch of four straight road games this week with a three-game weekend series at Cincinnati. It will mark the first time the Bulls have played in Cincinnati since the 2018 campaign when USF took two of three from the Bearcats.
South Florida is 20-13 all-time on the road at Cincinnati. USF and Cincinnati split a four-game series in Tampa last season. The Bulls have only played 10 total road contests this year entering the weekend and have won back-to-back away from home. The Bearcats are 11-8 on their home field this season.
Cincinnati enters the weekend tied for second in the American standings with Tulane, just one game off the pace of ECU.
The Bearcats collectively rank second in the AAC in team batting average (.279), lead the league with 52 home runs and like to move on the basepaths. On the mound though, Cincinnati's 6.49 team ERA ranks last in the conference.
Griffin Merrit leads the AAC in slugging (.768) and homers (14) and ranks second in RBI (39) to USF's Carmine Lane. Lane was named to the AAC Honor Roll for the second time this season earlier this week. The redshirt sophomore also leads the league in hits (59) and total bases (98).
Lane is batting .468 (22-47) with five doubles, a homer and 11 RBI over his last 10 games. He enters the weekend on a nine-game hitting streak and leads the Bulls in multi-hit (18) and multi-RBI (14) games this season.
Matt Ruiz is hitting .303 (10-33) over his last 10 games with a homer to go along with seven walks. Nick Gonzalez was also on a hot streak at the plate last week before missing the last two games with a foot injury. The Bulls will still be without the services of two of their top hitters in Drew Brutcher and Ben Rozenblum this weekend due to injuries.
Sonny Rao stepped up last Sunday with a big game in USF's win over Memphis and also got the start at FAMU on Tuesday. He joins fellow true freshman Marcus Brodil and Jackson Mayo who have had big impacts on the lineup this year. Mayo enters the weekend ranked third on the team in home runs (7) and RBI (24).
Probable Pitching Matchups
Friday – RHP Brad Lord (2-5, 5.20 ERA) vs. RHP Beau Keathley (3-1, 4.87 ERA)
Saturday – LHP Ethan Brown (2-0, 4.30 ERA) vs. LHP Conner Linn (3-1, 3.81 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 –
