TAMPA (March 24, 2023) – Redshirt senior Ethan Brown (Winter Garden) delivered his first career quality start and struck out a career-high 10 batters for the University of South Florida (8-15) on Friday night in an otherwise forgettable pitching performance for the Bulls who suffered an 18-3 loss to the VCU Rams (11-11) in the first tilt of a three-game series.
VCU surged to a 3-0 lead after four innings only to see South Florida rally to tie the game in the sixth frame.
John Montes (Toa Alto, Puerto Rico) launched his team-best fifth home run of the season in the bottom of the fifth inning to make it a 3-2 ballgame and tied the score with an RBI-single in the bottom of the sixth.
Brown exited with a no-decision after allowing three runs on five hits and only one walk.
The Rams proceeded to jump on the USF bullpen for 15 unanswered runs over the final three innings. The Bulls' relievers issued eight walks, hit four batters and scattered seven hits.
Notable
- Montes has hit three home runs over his last five games.
- Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) went 1-for-3 with a walk and extended his streak of reaching base safely to 19 consecutive games.
- Freshman Eric Snow (Forsyth, Ga.) extended his hitting streak to eight games.
- Caleb Pundsack (Groveland) had his streak of six straight relief appearances without surrendering a run snapped. Â Â Â Â Â Â
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Up Next
The Bulls and Rams continued their weekend series on Saturday, March 25 at 2 p.m. at USF Baseball Stadium. Â Â Â
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 –
