Bulls travel to Gainesville to take on Gators Tuesday
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
University of South Florida (23-20) vs. Florida (25-18)
SCHEDULE: Tuesday, May 3 – 6 p.m.
BALLPARK: Condron Family Ballpark | Gainesville, Fla.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Florida leads, 67-27
TV: SEC Network/ESPN+
RADIO: iHeart Radio Bulls Unlimited
LIVE STATS: View
TWITTER UPDATES: @USFBaseball
GAME NOTES: View
2022 MEDIA GUIDE: View
TAMPA (May 2, 2022) – The University of South Florida Bulls will return to the site of their historic 2021 NCAA regional championship when they take on the Florida Gators in Gainesville on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
South Florida's schedule this week also includes in-state rival UCF in a three-game weekend series set to begin in Tampa on Friday, May 6.
After winning their first American Athletic Championship last season, the Bulls were assigned to the Gainesville Regional where they knocked off host and top-seeded Florida in the opening game. USF went on to also defeat Miami and South Alabama to win the Gainesville Regional and earn a trip to the program's first-ever Super Regional.
The 5-3 win over Florida in last year's regional snapped a five-game skid to the Gators and was USF's first win over Florida in the postseason since 1982 (South Florida's first-ever regional appearance). It was also the Bulls' first win in Gainesville since a 15-10 victory on May 9, 2017.
Orion Kerkering struck out a pair of Gators over one scoreless inning to earn the save in last year's tilt. Nelson Rivera went 1-for-4 with an RBI-double to plate the first run of that game and Carmine Lane 1-for-5 with a booming home run.
Lane continues to lead the AAC in hits (63) and RBI (48) this season while ranking third in total bases (102). His season-long 13-game hitting streak recently came to an end over the weekend. Lane is hitting .357 with eight RBI over his last 10 games.
Nick Gonzalez has been one of the Bulls' hottest hitters of late and owns a .500 clip over his last seven games. He enters Tuesday's contest riding a seven-game hitting streak. True freshman Marcus Brodil is batting .407 with five extra-base hits over his last seven games and fellow rookie Sonny Rao is hitting .355 with eight RBI over his last eight outings.
The Gators are 17-10 at home this season and are coming off a series win over Kentucky after being swept by No. 1 Tennessee – both of those series played in Gainesville. Florida recently fell outside the Top 25 rankings but holds series wins over nationally-ranked Miami and Arkansas this season.
Florida ranks 11th in the NCAA in home runs this season (77), 45th in slugging (.481), 14th in fielding percentage (.980), 26th in WHIP (1.31) and 67th in ERA (4.54). South Florida ranks 35th in walks (223), 60th in OBP (.391) and 73rd in homers (50).
A pitching matchup for Tuesday's non-conference contest has not yet been announced.
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 –
