USF Athletics Weekend Round-Up

Corrick stays perfect over two weeks, Bulls win 3 out of 4 in Clearwater

Every game that senior pitcher Georgina Corrick has started this season the Bulls have won and those games have come against some stout competition in the opening fortnight of the season.

After dispatching of Illinois State, Kansas City, and no. 13 Michigan in the USF-Rawlings Invitational opening weekend, USF headed across the bay to play Notre Dame (receiving votes), no. 7 Oklahoma State, no. 25 Auburn, and Wisconsin in the St. Pete Clearwater Elite Invitational.

On Friday, USF blanked Notre Dame 7-0 with the offense firing on all cylinders and Corrick pitching another gem. Sophomore Vivian Ponn’s RBI single in the first got the scoring started in a game where the offense scored at least a run in the first four frames. Corrick pitched a complete game shutout giving up no earned runs and striking out nine.

On Saturday, USF played their third top-20 team in two weeks (beating Michigan, losing to no. 5 Florida), and came on top in dominating fashion, 7-1 over no. 7 Oklahoma State. With the game tied at 1 in the fourth, the offense took the lead for good with junior Alexis Johns’ bases-clearing triple. The offense added two in the fifth for good measure. Corrick pitched another gem going the distance (again) and giving up only one run and striking out six.

On Sunday, USF played their first double-header of the season losing to Auburn and beating Wisconsin. Senior Erin Poepping started in the circle vs. Auburn giving up three runs in 3.1 innings of work, but the offense couldn’t continue its hot streak only mustering one run on three hits in the 5-1 defeat. Game 2 was a bit more dramatic with an old fashioned pitcher’s duel. Wisconsin broke through in the third to take a one-run lead off of an error and it took until the sixth to knot up the game at 1. In the seventh, Ponn again delivered for the Bulls with an RBI single after sophomore Alanah Rivera’s lead-off double. Corrick pitched another gem going the distance (again) and giving up no earned runs and a season-high 13 strikeouts.

If you’re counting at home that’s a 3-0 weekend for Corrick giving up 1 earned run over 21 innings pitched and striking out 28 with only three walks. Folks, that’s elite stuff.

Next up, USF (6-2) will welcome St. John’s, Sant Jospeh’s, and Fairfield to the USF Softball Stadium for the USF Tournament from Friday to Sunday.

Baseball opens season 1-2 over trio of quality opponents

Fresh off their improbable Super Regional run last season, USF baseball returned with a ton of excitement at Red McEwen Field welcoming a trio of programs with recent postseason success. On Friday, the Bulls lost in extras 5-1 vs. UConn as sophomore Jack Jasiak continued his rise as the next great USF ace giving up two runs in six innings with only one walk and four strikeouts. Postseason star junior Jarrett Eaton went 2-4 with two RBI including another clutch 2-out, 2-run double that put the Bulls ahead in the sixth. The Huskies tied in the game in the seventh and took the lead for good in the tenth. The Bulls offense struck out 20 times in the opening game. Orion Kerkering pitched four innings in relief striking out nine and giving up his only run in the tenth.

On Saturday, USF secured its first victory of the season over Louisville in dominant fashion, 8-4. Junior Brad Lord started the game giving up two earned runs in five innings and striking out six. Junior Devin Hemenway and sophomore Hunter Mink closed out the victory giving up zero earned runs between them. The offensive fireworks started in the second where USF put up six runs, five unearned off of six hits and two errors where the Louisville outfielders had trouble finding the ball in the sun. Sophomore Carmine Lane went 3-5 with two RBI, tacking on another run in the eighth on an RBI triple. The victory was Manager Billy Mohl’s 100th of his career.

On Sunday, true freshman Jack Cebert saw his first action as a Bull giving up four runs and three walks in one inning of work in an 10-4 loss to Charlotte. Freshman Nolan Hudi came in relief and also gave up four runs in one inning of work. The 49ers went down silently for the rest of the game, but the deficit was too much for the Bulls to overcome. Carmine Lane continued his hot weekend with a three run blast in the 6th and added a walk to his stat sheet.

USF (1-2) welcomes Stony Brook to the USF Baseball Stadium for a three-game series starting Friday.

Men’s Basketball falls to Tulsa 65-57 in battle for last place in the conference

Men’s basketball continued their abysmal season on the court losing their fifth straight game and sitting alone at the bottom of the standings with a 2-12 conference record. Javon Greene led the way with 15 points on 4-14 from the field (3-10 from three). Tulsa shot 52% from the floor and 35% from three in the loss. Sophomore Russel Tchewa scored 13 points on 6-13 shooting and secured seven rebounds. Tulsa won by eight despite giving up 19 turnovers to USF’s 13.

After playing four games in a week due to postponements, USF (7-19, 2-12) will hit the road to play ECU on Wednesday and Cincinnati on Saturday.

Women’s Tennis loses pair of matches vs. Liberty and North Texas

On Saturday, the Bulls faced Liberty losing 4-2 despite securing the doubles point on two courts. Freshman Sierra Berry won the lone singles match in straight sets.

On Sunday, USF lost to a one-loss North Texas team 4-1 losing the doubles point and the first singles match of the day. Freshman Grace Shumacher secured the lone point on the day for the Bulls in a 6-2, 7-6 (8-6) victory.

USF (1-7) will welcome Stetson on Wednesday and FGCU on Sunday to the the USF Varsity Tennis Courts looking to snap a seven match losing streak.