TAMPA (April 16, 2024) – The University of South Florida Bulls (21-16) dropped the opening tilt of an eight-game homestand on Tuesday night, 7-5, to the FGCU Eagles (18-17) at USF Baseball Stadium. The teams combined to strand 24 runners on base, but the Eagles went 5-for-17 with runners in scoring position, compared to a 2-for-17 mark for the Bulls.
FGCU took the lead for good, 5-4, in the back-and-forth affair with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh inning, just after South Florida had taken a 4-3 lead with two runs in the bottom of the sixth.
The Eagles proceeded to tack on single runs in the eighth and ninth innings to pad their lead to 7-4. The Bulls brought the tying run to the plate with only one out in the bottom of the ninth, but only managed to plate one run in their late comeback bid.
Rafael Betancourt (Deltona), Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) and Joaquin Monque (Weston) each had a pair of hits for USF. Matt Rose (Clearwater) went 1-for-3 with two RBI.
Notable
- Joey Volini (Tampa) was one of eight USF pitchers on the night. Volini made his first collegiate start and struck out three batters over 2.0 IP.
- Kyle Scrape (Tampa) made a scoreless relief appearance, his first outing since March 23.
- Marcus Brodil (Dunedin) extended his streak of reaching base safely to 16 straight games with a walk.
- USF falls to 18-5 when recording 10 or more hits in a game. The Bulls have tallied at least 10 hits in three straight games.
Up Next
The Bulls resume conference play with a three-game series against Rice beginning on Friday, April 19 at 6:30 p.m. in Tampa.
Double Play Passes, which include one ticket to every home baseball and softball game, can be purchased now for $99. Group and single game tickets are also on sale and can be purchased here or by calling 1-800-Go-Bulls.
About USF Baseball
The USF Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and is entering its 59th season in 2024 under head coach Billy Mohl (seventh 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 19 have earned Freshman All-America accolades, most recently Eric Snow in 2023. 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.
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