GAMEDAY INFORMATION
University of South Florida Bulls (21-16, 7-5) vs. Rice University Owls (12-25, 3-9 AAC)
SCHEDULE: Friday, April 19 – 6:30 p.m. | Saturday, April 20 – 2 p.m. | Sunday, April 21 – 1 p.m.
BALLPARK: Red McEwen Field at USF Baseball Stadium | Tampa, Fla.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Rice leads, 1-0
TV: ESPN+
LISTEN: Bulls Unlimited
LIVE STATS: Here
TWITTER UPDATES: @USFBaseball
GAME NOTES: South Florida | Rice
TICKETS: Purchase
TAMPA (April 18, 2024) – The University of South Florida Bulls continue a season-long eight-game homestand with a three-game set against Rice University beginning Friday, April 19 at 6:30 p.m. South Florida and Rice, new AAC foes, have only met once before on the diamond.
South Florida enters the weekend in third place in the AAC standings while Rice sits in 10th. The 2024 American Championship is a little over a month away, set for May 21-26 at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater.
The Bulls had won six straight at home prior to a 7-5 setback on Tuesday to FGCU.
USF leads the AAC and ranks 30th in the NCAA with 69 stolen bases this season after totaling just 39 a year ago. Ben Rozenblum leads the league with a career-high 16 stolen bases. Rozenblum batted .538 (7-for-13) over four games last week with a .647 OBP.
John Montes continues to lead the Bulls with a .356 batting average, which ranks third in the AAC. Jackson Mayo leads the team with 34 RBI and shares the lead in home runs (7) with Bobby Boser. Boser, who was injured on March 10, could make his full-time return to the lineup as early as this weekend.
Drew Brutcher enters the weekend leading the way in walks and doubles. His 37 walks have matched a career high and rank 12th in the NCAA. Brutcher's 14 doubles are tied for the AAC lead. He ranks sixth all-time in program history for home runs (37) and 10th in career walks (129).
Marcus Brodil and Matt Rose each continue to swing hot bats for the Bulls. Brodil has reached base safely in 16 straight games and is batting .360 over that span. Rose has a team-best .387 batting average during league play and owns a .421 average and .522 OBP through his last 12 games overall.
PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUP
Friday – RHP Hunter Mink (3-4, 5.29 ERA) vs. RHP Parker Smith (3-3, 3.93 ERA)
Saturday – RHP Jack Cebert (4-3, 5.40 ERA) vs. LHP J.D. McCracken (2-4, 4.71 ERA)
Sunday – TBD vs. RHP Tucker Alch (0-2, 4.35 ERA)
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.
– #GoBulls –
