GAMEDAY INFORMATION
University of South Florida Bulls (22-22, 8-10) at No. 5 ECU Pirates (35-8, 14-4 AAC)
SCHEDULE: Friday, May 3 – 6 p.m. | Saturday, May 4 – 4 p.m. | Sunday, May 5 – 1 p.m.
BALLPARK: Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium | Greenville, N.C.
ALL-TIME SERIES: ECU leads, 31-16
TV: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: Here
TWITTER UPDATES: @USFBaseball
GAME NOTES: South Florida | East Carolina
GREENVILLE, N.C. (May 2, 2024) – Following a season-long eight-game homestand, the University of South Florida Bulls now embark on a season-long seven-game road stretch beginning at No. 5 ECU on Friday, May 3.
After the weekend series at ECU, the Bulls will head to Gainesville on Tuesday, May 7 for a matchup with the Florida Gators then travel to San Antonia, Texas for a three-game series at UTSA on May 10-12.
Despite a disappointing homestand, South Florida has opportunities the next two weekends against the top two teams in the AAC standings. The third and ninth spot in the conference race are still only separated by two games. The top eight teams will advance to the AAC Championship in Clearwater on May 21-26.
The last time South Florida won a series against a Top 25 opponent was in Greensville against No. 7 ECU on April 13-15, 2018.
John Montes enters the weekend still leading the Bulls with a .314 batting average. Drew Brutcher follows him with a .307 clip. Marcus Brodil has hit a scorching .383 with a .532 OBP over 18 conference games.
Brutcher has already set new career highs this season in walks (39) and doubles (14). The senior ranks sixth all-time in program history with 38 home runs and is tied for ninth with 131 career walks.
Bobby Boser shares the team lead in home runs, despite missing 22 games due to injury, with Jackson Mayo. Boser and Mayo have hit eight apiece, including back-to-back blasts on Tuesday against Stetson.
Hunter Mink is in line for his 12th Friday night start of the season. Over his last five outings, Mink is 2-1 with a 4.09 ERA (33.0 IP/15 ER), four quality starts, one complete game, 39 strikeouts and only eight walks. He struck out a career-best 10 batters on April 19 against Rice and topped that with 11 punchouts last Friday against Florida Atlantic.
PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUP
Friday – RHP Hunter Mink (3-4, 4.84 ERA) vs. RHP Trey Yesavage (9-1, 1.73 ERA)
Saturday – TBD vs. TBD
Sunday – TBD vs. TBD
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 –
