LONG BEACH, Calif. (March 11, 2023) – The University of South Florida Bulls dropped the opener of a three-game weekend series at Long Beach State on Saturday night, 8-0. The series was originally slated to begin on Friday, but heavy rain pushed game one to Saturday night with the final two games of the set scheduled for a doubleheader on Sunday.
The Bulls and Dirtbags are meeting on the diamond for the first time in program history.
The ballgame began with a pitcher's duel between South Florida's Ethan Brown (Winter Garden) and Long Beach's Graham Osman. The Dirtbags got to Brown for a two-out run in the bottom of the first inning before the lefty settled in and tossed zeros at the home team over the next three innings.
Brown departed the game with two outs and two runners on in the bottom of the fifth and was relieved by Austin Grause (Tampa). Long Beach proceeded to plate three more two-out runs, including an unearned run on one of USF's three errors in the game.
The Dirtbags added four more runs against the USF bullpen to account for the final score.
Offensively, the Bulls were shutout for the first time this season and held to a season-low two hits.
Notable
- Brown (0-2) struck out five over 4.2 IP in his first start of the season. The southpaw has struck out 15 batters over his last 10.1 IP.
- Justin Jackson (Naples) and Caleb Pundsack (Groveland) gave the Bulls scoreless relief appearances. Pundsack has struck out four and not allowed a run over his last three appearances (3.1 IP).
- Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
- Bobby Boser (Wesley Chapel) had his career-long 13-game streak of reaching base safely snapped.
Up Next
The Bulls and Dirtbags wrap up their series on Sunday, March 12 beginning at 2 p.m. ET. Game 2 of the doubleheader will begin 40 minutes after the conclusion of Game 1.
About USF Baseball
The USF Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and is entering its 58th season in 2023 under head coach Billy Mohl (sixth season). 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 Bulls were selected in the 2022 MLB Draft. Former 2018 first-round selection, Shane McClanahan, became the program's first-ever MLB All-Star in 2022 and was the starting pitcher for the American League.
– #GoBulls –
