The USF baseball team gives up roughly one run per game due to errors. This may not seem like an important number, but seven of the Bulls’ 12 losses have been by only one run.

“It’s just incredible,” USF Eddie Cardieri said. “We are (4-0) when we don’t make any errors.”

Losing a game because of errors may be obvious, but the Bulls are following a distinct pattern.

When USF (20-12) has fewer than two errors in a game, the team is 12-3, but when more than two are committed, it is 0-6.

The Bulls have 31 errors in 32 games.

“Physical errors are going to occur in baseball,” Cardieri said. “It’s just that we are letting them occur way too often.”

On March 11 and 12, the Bulls lost two close games to Miami (3-2 and 6-4) after committing three errors in each game. The most errors committed this season (seven) came against Florida A&M on Feb. 8, when USF lost 16-9.

Starting shortstop Myron Leslie leads the team in errors with 15 in 32 games. Center fielder Mike Cunningham and third baseman Jeff Baisley have eight and nine, respectively.

Errors could be a problem when the Bulls play UCF (22-12) tonight at 7 at Red McEwen Field for the second time in a week because, according to Cardieri, the Golden Knights do not have a weakness.

“I didn’t really see one, to tell you the truth,” Cardieri said. “I’ve only seen them one time, but I think they are a well-balanced club.”

Cardieri was especially impressed by the Golden Knights’ pitching. The staff has a 4.09 ERA and average 8 1/2 strikeouts per game. Despite the accolades Cardieri gave UCF, the Bulls scored eight runs on 14 hits in last Tuesday’s 8-5 victory against the Golden Knights.

Cardieri said the Bulls have put recent losses behind them and are prepared for UCF tonight. Cardieri, although disappointed with the errors, does not know why they are occurring so frequently or how he is going to try to turn the problem around.

“I don’t know,” Cardieri said. “We’re just going to keep going out there and play the rest of the schedule and see what happens.”