TAMPA, Fla. (March 22, 2026) – University of South Florida baseball was victorious in its opening conference series of 2026. The Bulls entered conference play in first place in the American for the first time since 2021, when South Florida advanced to a Super Regional. After this opening series, South Florida remains in first place in the American. The Bulls (20-4, 2-1 American) defeated the Owls (14-11, 1-2 American) 7-2.
 
Scoring began in the third inning, first in the top half of the inning for Rice. Mason Ashlock drew a leadoff walk and scored on an Aric Anderson triple to right field. Anderson would score on a sacrifice fly hit by Landis Davila, giving the Owls a 2-0 lead headed to the bottom half of the inning.
 
The Bulls answered with two runs in the bottom half of the third. Jevin Relaford singled up the middle, and he advanced to second when he was followed by a single by Ryan Pruitt. Bradke Lohry kept the train of singles coming and recorded a base hit to center to score Relaford and advance Pruitt to third. Eli Thomas was next up and doubled to center field to score Pruitt. The game would be tied at two, ending the third inning.
 
Lohry drew a leadoff walk to start the bottom half of the fifth inning for the Bulls. He would score on the next South Florida at bat, when Thomas tripled to right center. Next to bat was Nathan Earley, who hit a two-run home run to right field. Later in the inning, Lance Trippel singled to left and advanced to second with a single to right center from Jack Lutz. Jacob Green would double, scoring Trippel and giving the Bulls a four-run inning. The lead would be 6-2, headed to the sixth.
 
South Florida's seventh and final run of the game would come in the bottom of the sixth. Pruitt reached on an error and advanced to second when Lohry hit a pop-up straight up in the infield that no Owl would catch. Thomas reached on a fielder's choice where Lohry was out at second, and Pruitt advanced to third. Earley hit a fly ball to center field that would bounce over the wall for a ground-rule double, scoring Pruitt. The final score would be 7-2, Bulls.
 
Will Allen started on the mound for South Florida, throwing two innings. He recorded two strikeouts while giving up one walk, one hit, and two runs. Kaden Smith would be awarded the win for the Bulls after pitching 4.2 innings. He earned two strikeouts, giving up one walk and one hit.
 
Notables:
• South Florida is currently in first place in the American Conference.
• The Bulls are now 17-2 at home this season.
• South Florida is 9-0 in games in which a Bull has hit a home run.
• Lance Trippel is now on a ten-game hit streak, Bradke Lohry has an 11-game reached base streak.
• The Bulls entered conference play in first place in the American for the first time since 2021, when South Florida advanced to a Super Regional.
• South Florida is outscoring its opponents 188-80 so far this season.
• The Bulls open conference play 2-1.
 
Up Next:
South Florida heads back on the road this week for a one-game midweek matchup down in Fort Myers. The Bulls will face the FGCU Eagles on Tuesday, March 24th. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
 
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About USF Baseball
The University of South Florida baseball program, founded in 1966, enters its 61st season in 2026. Head coach Mitch Hannahs returns for his second year at the helm after leading the Bulls to 32 wins in his debut season—the program's highest win total since 2018. USF also posted 16 victories in American Athletic Conference play, marking its best conference showing since joining the league.
 
Hannahs, a 2023 ABCA NCAA Division I Midwest Region Coach of the Year, was named USF's eighth head coach on June 8, 2024, after an 11-year run at Indiana State where he tallied 355 wins, six conference titles, and five NCAA Regional appearances.
 
USF has made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, including a historic Super Regional berth in 2021. The Bulls have captured five conference tournament titles (three Sun Belt, one Metro, one American) and six regular season championships (three Sun Belt, two Metro, one C-USA).
 
The program continues to develop top-tier talent with 134 MLB Draft picks all-time, including three selections in 2025. Notable alumni include two-time MLB All-Star and 2018 first-round draft pick Shane McClanahan. Bulls have earned All-America honors 12 times and Freshman All-America recognition 19 times.
– #GoBulls –