The South Florida baseball team opened Conference USA play by winning two of three games against Saint Louis.

The Bulls opened up the series Friday by scoring five runs in the eighth inning to overcome a 5-4 deficit, winning 9-5.USF won the second game Saturday with a strong start, opening the game with six consecutive hits and scoring 10 runs in the first three innings.

The Bulls lost their first conference game Sunday when the Billikens out-played them with 10 hits and no errors, while the Bulls committed three in a 5-2 loss.

“We were outplayed in every aspect. We were out-defended. We were out-pitched. We were out-hit,” USF head coach Eddie Cardieri said. “Unfortunately, we have to settle for two out of three.”Corey Lawson won Saint Louis’s only game of the weekend against the Bulls, pitching a complete game with eight hits and three strikeouts and allowing two runs.

“My cap is off to Lawson for competing and battling the way he did,” Cardieri said.

SLU scored the first run of the game in the first inning, and USF followed with a run in the bottom of the inning.

In the third inning, the Billikens pulled ahead for good when Drew Eder scored on a wild pitch after reaching base by being hit by a pitch. The second run came when Michael Crane scored on a Joe Boyer single.

SLU scored another run in the sixth and then another in the seventh to seal the win. The Bulls scored a run in the seventh inning when Scott Rachlin hit his third and USF’s seventh home run of the season.

Earlier in the break, the Bulls defeated Northern Illinois 8-2 Tuesday with the help of a grand slam by Devin Ivany. Ivany is a freshman catcher with 21 RBI.

Spring break was highlighted for the Bulls when they won two of three games against defending national champion Miami on March 8-10.

• Contact Bryan Fazio at oraclebryan@yahoo.com