TAMPA, May 15, 2025- The University of South Florida Bulls (27-23, 14-11 American) fell to the East Carolina Pirates (29-23, 13-12 American) to open the final regular season series on Thursday night at Red McEwen Field. The Bulls lost with a final score of 5-1.
 
South Florida is currently tied for third place with Florida Atlantic. They are two games behind Charlotte, who is playing Tulane.
 
Despite a solid defensive performance and a clean game in the field with zero errors, the Bulls were unable to overcome ECU's timely hitting and strong bullpen. USF starter Jack Nedrow (5-3) went six innings, striking out none but managing to limit early damage before ECU broke through in the middle innings.
 
Offensively, Carter Murphy led the way for the Bulls, going 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Ryan Pruitt continued his steady production at the top of the lineup, adding two hits including his 11th double of the season. Lance Trippel drove in the Bulls' lone run with a sacrifice fly in the 8th inning.
 
Key Stats:

• Matt Rose stretches his hitting streak to six games.
• Carlos Jacome has a hit in 12 of his last 14 games.
• Carter Murphy produced his fourth multi-hit game of the season.
• Ryan Pruitt produced his 18^th multi-hit performance of the season.
• Jackson Mayo hit his sixth double of the season.
• Brandon Keyster brought his season strikeout total to 17.
• The Bulls' 14 conference wins are tied for the most since joining the American.

 
Up Next:
South Florida will continue the series with East Carolina tomorrow at 6:30 p.m.  The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and can be heard on Bulls Unlimited.
 
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.