GAMEDAY INFORMATION
University of South Florida Bulls (25-27, 10-14) vs. UAB Blazers (24-26, 11-13 AAC)
SCHEDULE: Thursday, May 16 – 6:30 p.m. | Friday, May 17 – 5 p.m. | Saturday, May 18 – 1 p.m.
BALLPARK: Red McEwen Field at USF Baseball Stadium | Tampa, Fla.
ALL-TIME SERIES: USF leads, 57-34
TV: ESPN+
LISTEN: Bulls Unlimited
LIVE STATS: Here
TWITTER UPDATES: @USFBaseball
GAME NOTES: South Florida | UAB
TICKETS: Purchase
TAMPA (May 15, 2024) – The University of South Florida Bulls conclude the regular season with a three-game series against the UAB Blazers on May 16-18 in Tampa. South Florida will celebrate Senior Day on Saturday prior to the finale of the series.
South Florida enters the final weekend in ninth place in the AAC standings at 10-14 while UAB is in a four-way tie for fifth place at 11-13. Third place and ninth place of the 10-team league are only separated by three games. The top eight teams will advance to the AAC Championship on May 21-26 at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater.
The Bulls' clearest path to being part of the eight-team tournament field is winning two games against the Blazers this weekend. The field and seeds will be announced following the conclusion of all league games on Saturday evening.
USF is coming off a 7-2 win over UNF on Tuesday to open its final four-game homestand. Ben Rozenblum and Rafael Betancourt each homered and drove in three runs. Betancourt and Marcus Brodil tallied three hits apiece. UAB's midweek game was canceled.
Rozenblum has logged career highs this season in hits (53), homers (8), RBI (29) and stolen bases (19). Fellow senior John Montes has also recorded career highs in hits (57), doubles (13), homers (8) and RBI (39).
Brodil is batting .347 with six doubles, three homers, 12 RBI and 24 walks over his last 28 games. He is batting .365 during conference play this season. Betancourt has also been swinging a hot bat as of late with a .354 average, seven doubles and two homers over his last 19 games.
USF has posted a 3.67 ERA (49.0 IP/20 ER) over its last six games entering the final series. The Bulls continue to lead the AAC in stolen bases (85) after swiping only 39 bags last season.
Drew Brutcher enters the finale ranked fifth all-time in program history in home runs (39), eighth in extra-base hits (85) and ninth in career walks (134). Bobby Boser recently cracked the Top 10 list in homers and is eighth all-time (30).
The Bulls and Blazers were former conference mates in both the Sun Belt and C-USA and will meet for the first team as members of The American in their first head-to-head matchup since 2005.
PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS
Thursday – RHP Hunter Mink (3-5, 5.65 ERA) vs. RHP Blayze Berry (8-2, 2.61 ERA)
Friday – TBD vs. RHP Braxton Shelton (2-5, 4.20 ERA)
Saturday – TBD vs. TBD
AAC WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Rice (11-3) at ECU (16-8)
Tulane (13-11) at Charlotte (11-13)
Wichita State (13-11) at Memphis (9-15)
UTSA (15-9) at Florida Atlantic (11-13)
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 –
