On the right foot

BASEBALL GAME TIMEUSF (14-12, 5-1) at Cincinnati (13-10, 0-3)When: Today – Sun.Where: UC Baseball Field

Coach Eddie Cardieri calls it “a good start.”

USF’s 5-1 record in the Big East, which includes a sweep over Seton Hall, is one of the team’s best conference starts under Cardieri, but after only two series, he says it’s still early for tournament talk.

“I do think it’s a little too early, and it’s too early to be thinking about the Big East Tournament,” Cardieri said. “We’ve had a good start to the league, and we’re going to call it that.”

And while the Bulls are off to that “good start” in the Big East and hold the best record in the league at 14-12, USF does not, however, hold the best overall record. West Virginia is just 21-3, 3-0, while Notre Dame, which was picked in the preseason to win the conference, is 14-8, 2-1. There are no nationally ranked Big East teams.

On top of saying it’s still early, Cardieri said the start is something the Bulls weren’t planning on, though they are glad it happened.

“(This start) hasn’t caught us by surprise, nor did I expect it,” Cardieri said. “It’s more something you hope you can do – lose only one conference game in two weeks. Sure, we want to keep it going, and we’re only going to do that by keeping our focus until May.”

So with seven Big East series left on the schedule, Cardieri still feels there is a lot of baseball to play. Of the seven teams USF has not faced yet, only four have winning records, while three others have no Big East wins this season.

The Bulls (14-12) face Cincinnati (13-10, 0-3) – a team USF has only lost six games against – this weekend at UC Baseball Stadium.

“This team has a lot of parity,” Cardieri said. “We’d be foolish to overlook them or to look ahead past them. They can beat anybody, just like us.”