TAMPA, APRIL 19, 2025- The University of South Florida baseball team's (22-15; 10-5 AAC) late run came up short against the Charlotte 49ers (22-17; 9-6 AAC) in the series finale at the USF Baseball Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Bulls lost with a final score of 5-3.
 
South Florida still holds second place in the AAC standings. The Bulls are two games behind the UTSA Roadrunners and have a one-game lead on Florida Atlantic and East Carolina.
 
Charlotte jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning with a two-run homer from Blake Martin. In the fourth inning, the Bulls had a chance to get on the board after singles from Stewart Puckett and Rafael Betancourt and a walk from Jackson Mayo, but the bases were left loaded.
 
The 49ers added to their lead in the seventh inning with a two-RBI double to give them a 4-0 lead.
 
The Bulls loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth inning with two singles from Betancourt and Bradke Lohry and a hit-by-pitch from Carlos Jacome. Ryan Pruitt batted in South Florida's first run to get the Bulls on the board. Two more runs scored on a throwing error by the 49ers to cut the lead to 5-3.
 
Sebastian Greico was intentionally walked to reload the bases, but the Bulls' late efforts came up short.
 
RHP Jack Nedrow earned his third start of the season. He pitched a season-high of 7.0 innings and matched a season-high of six strikeouts. RHP Jorge DeCardenas pitched the final two innings. He struck out two batters.
 
Key Stats:

• Puckett has a hit in his last three games.
• Trippel is now 6-for-8 in stolen bases this season.
• Pruitt has stolen a team-leading 13 bases this season.

Notables:

• RHP Jack Nedrow pitched a season-high 7.0 innings. He matched a season-high of six strikeouts.
• OF Marcus Brodil has now reached base in 15 consecutive conference games.
• OF Jackson Mayo is one home run away from breaking into the top 10 career home run list in program history. He has hit 28 home runs in his career.
• OF Ryan Pruitt has a hit in 14 of his last 19 games, five of which have been multi-hit performances.
• 1B Rafael Betancourt has a hit in 15 of his last 18 games, nine of which have been multi-hit performances.

 
Up Next:
South Florida will start another five-game road stand on Wednesday, April 23, as they head to Daytona for a midweek matchup against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats. The first pitch is set for 6 p.m.
 
Tickets:
Tickets to watch Bulls baseball at the USF Baseball Stadium may be purchased by calling 1-800-GoBulls or clicking HERE.
 
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About USF Baseball
The South Florida Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and will enter its 60th campaign in 2025. Mitch Hannahs was named South Florida's eighth head coach in program history on June 8, 2024, after compiling 355 wins over 11 seasons at Indiana State. The 2023 ABCA NCAA DI Midwest Region Coach of the Year guided the Sycamores to six conference titles and five NCAA Regionals. The Bulls have made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances and earned their first-ever Super Regional berth in 2021. 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, and 19 Bulls have earned Freshman All-America accolades. USF has had 131 MLB Draft Picks. Former 2018 first-round draft pick Shane McClanahan is a two-time MLB All-Star.
 
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