Preview: USF baseball looks to extend win-streak against UNF

USF (15-6) hits the road red-hot to take on North Florida on Wednesday in Jacksonville.

The Bulls will face the Ospreys on a season long eight-game winning streak after sweeping Army over the weekend. USF’s pitching staff largely led the way against the Black Knights – no-hitting the Army offense for the first 14.2 innings of the series.

Thanks to his dominating pitching performance Friday against the Black Knights, sophomore left-handed pitcher Shane McClanahan was named the AAC Pitcher of the Week. McClanahan threw six hitless innings and struck out a career-high 15 batters against Army on Friday. 

McClanahan and sophomore right-handed pitcher Carson Ragsdale were named as Collegiate Baseball’s National Players of the Week. Ragsdale threw the final three innings in the Friday night game, striking out seven batters en route to USF’s first combined no hitter in program history.

The Bulls’ offense has been on fire lately too. Junior Joe Genord took home several honors this week. Genord was named the AAC Player of the Week and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association National Player of the Week.

Genord went 9-for-18 over the past week, while driving in 11 runs and homering in four consecutive games.

North Florida enters the midweek matchup with the Bulls at 10-12 after taking two of three over the weekend against Memphis. Sophomore Tanner Murphy leads the ASUN in hits (30) and is second in total bases (49). Murphy also leads the Ospreys in RBI (16).

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Cooper Bradford is expected to start for North Florida on Wednesday. Bradford will be making his third start of the season and enters with a 1-1 record and 5.79 ERA in 18.2 innings pitched. 

USF will send freshman pitcher Baron Stuart to the mound. Stuart will be making his fourth start of the season and has posted a 2-1 record with a 3.18 ERA in 17 innings pitched.

The right-hander’s last outing was March 13 when he faced FGCU, going five innings and striking out six batters in route to his second win of the season.

Following the midweek matchup in Jacksonville, the Bulls return home for a three-game weekend series against UConn to open AAC play. Friday night’s game will be televised on the American Digital Network and will begin at 7 p.m.