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The quest for a #SpringOfRingz rolls on as baseball, softball, and both men’s and women’s tennis were in action this weekend. Let’s check how it all went down.
Baseball (20-11, 5-4 AAC)
Looking for their third straight series win to begin conference season, the Bulls left the state of Florida for the first time all year but dropped two one-run games on Saturday and Sunday in Houston to fall short in the weekend series.
Friday night, lefty ace Shane McClanahan pitched into the seventh as the Bulls built a big 8-0 lead and used three long balls to hang on for a 9-6 victory. Saturday, righty starter Peter Strzelecki found himself pitching in a scoreless game in the ninth, but the Cougars loaded the bases and laced a walk-off single to right to win it 1-0.
In a battle of the bullpens, back-and-forth affair in the series finale on Sunday, the Bulls couldn’t rally back after allowing three runs in the seventh inning and fell 9-8 to the Cougars in the rubber match.
USF will stay on the road all this week, playing at Steston on Tuesday night before heading to #7 ECU for a three-game series this weekend.
Softball (29-15, 7-2 AAC)
The first-place Bulls grabbed two of three over the weekend versus Houston at home to continue their winning ways.
Freshman Georgina Corrick held Houston scoreless through six innings on Friday night, but a crazy nine-run seventh lifted the Cougars to a 9-1 victory in the series opener.
After game two was halted by thunderstorms on Saturday, the Bulls finished the series with two wins on Sunday. A three-run homer by sophomore Brooke Hartman helped the Bulls to a 3-2 win in the second game, and a five-run fourth inning lifted the Bulls 7-4 victory in game three.
Senior outfielder Astin Donovan recorded the 200th hit of her career in game two.
OF Astin Donovan (@adon31_) becomes just the 14th Bull to amass 200 career hits. Lea Mishlan (‘97-00) holds the high-water mark with 284 https://t.co/zNKh80AY2o
— Biggest Florida Panthers Fan in the World (@BullsNathanSBN) April 8, 2018
The 2012 WCWS team was also inducted into the USF Softball Alumni Hall of Fame over the weekend.
Next, USF will hit the road for a three-game conference series at Tulsa this weekend.
Men’s Tennis (7-15, 1-3 AAC)
Not much to see here. The Bulls are struggling big time and dropped both matches this weekend, 4-0 to Memphis on Friday and 6-1 to Tulsa on Sunday.
In singles action, senior Peter Bertran was impressive in defeating Tulane’s No. 87 ranked Ewan Moore in straight sets of, 6-4, 6-3. Unfortunately, that was the lone highlight this weekend for the Bulls.
USF wraps-up the regular season on Sunday at C.
Women’s Tennis (11-9, 4-2 AAC)
The Bulls nine-match winning streak came to and end with a 4-1 loss to No. 22 C. last week and the ladies couldn’t bounce back on Sunday, losing another close one to Rice 4-3 on Senior Day.
After the Bulls took the doubles point, Brazilian senior Juliana Cardoso won in straight sets, shutting out her Owls’ opponent in the second set, 7-5, 6-0.
USF will head down to FIU for the regular season finale on Friday.
Notables
- The USF football spring game is this Saturday, April 14th with kickoff from Corbett Stadium scheduled for 2 p.m. More info on the game and fan street fest can be found here.
- The USF Volleyball Annual Golf Outing is set for Friday at Bardmoor Golf & Country Club in Seminole and there are plenty of great opportunities to help support the program right here!