TAMPA, Fla. (Feb. 20, 2026) – University of South Florida baseball starts the weekend off strong with a victory over Georgia Southern in Game 1 of the three-game series, 9-7. The Bulls (5-1) will face the Eagles (0-5) in games two and three on Saturday and Sunday this weekend.
Georgia Southern got on the board first at the top of the third. Mason Gazaway walked with two outs and soon after stole second. The next batter, Jack Myers, singled to right-center, scoring Gazaway. The score would be 1-0, Eagles going to the bottom of the third.
South Florida immediately fought back in the bottom of the third, started by a lead-off single to center by
Jevin Relaford. After three failed pick-off attempts, on the first pitch of
Jack Lutz's at-bat, Relaford stole second. Lutz grounded to shortstop, allowing Relaford to advance to third with one out.
Ryan Pruitt was next up and grounded to shortstop, advancing Relaford, this time allowing him to score. The game would be tied 1-1 at the end of the third.
In the bottom of the fourth,
Eli Thomas got the Bulls a baserunner with a one-out walk.
Nathan Earley was next to bat, singling to right field and advancing Thomas to third. Catcher
Lance Trippel hit a slow groundout to shortstop, but it allowed Thomas to score. South Florida would lead 2-1 to end the fourth inning.
The Eagles wouldn't trail for long and got the fifth inning started with a lead-off double from Nico Senese. The next batter, Grant Jordan, was hit by a pitch. Mason Gazaway laid down a sacrifice bunt that would advance both runners. Jack Myers was next to bat and was also hit by a pitch, now loading the bases for the Eagles. One strikeout batter later, Sean White singled to left field, scoring Jordan and Senese. Next batter, Max Pronzy, homered to left field, making the score 6-2 mid-fifth.
In the bottom of the fifth, USF responded. Back-to-back singles from
Jack Lutz and
Ryan Pruitt, followed by a
Bradke Lohry walk, immediately loaded the bases.
Jake Kulikowski drove a ball back towards the video board in right field, and eventually over the fence for a grand slam. Scoring wouldn't stop there for the Bulls, though, as back-to-back singles from
Eli Thomas and
Nathan Earley would place Thomas on third. Catcher
Lance Trippel then hit a slow ground ball, allowing Thomas to score. The Bulls reclaimed the lead, 8-6, at the end of the fifth.
In the top of the eighth, Pronzy hit a lead-off solo home run to cut the lead to 8-7, heading to the bottom of the eighth.
At the bottom of the eighth, Lohry hit a one-out double to right center. He was followed by a Kulikowski single that advanced him to third.
Eli Thomas then grounded out but allowed Lohry to score to give the Bulls a 9-7 lead. They would retain this lead for the remainder of the game.
Edwin Alicea got the start on the mound for South Florida and pitched six innings. He recorded five strikeouts, giving up seven hits, six runs, and one walk. His reliever and assistant in the combined completed game was
Ethan Sutton. Sutton pitched the final three innings, scoring seven strikeouts and giving up one hit and one run on the homerun. Alicea was awarded the win, and Sutton the save.
Key Stats:
•
Ryan Pruitt is currently on a six-game hitting streak.
• South Florida is currently on a four-game win streak.
•
Edwin Alicea and
Ethan Sutton pitch for a combined complete game.
Up Next:
South Florida will host Game 2 of this three-game series on Saturday, February 21st at 2:00 pm. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
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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