A primer for the busiest weekend in USF athletics this year
As spring sports have begun to overlap with men’s and women’s basketball, it may have been hard for USF fans to keep up with everything. With a combined 15 games, matches and meets between six USF programs this coming weekend, it’ll be USF’s busiest weekend since spring 2017.
Here’s everything fans may have missed, as well as what you need to know for the coming weekend’s events, by team.
Men’s Basketball
USF (8-20) has lost 14 of its 15 conference games this season, but has seen progress for the future through the play of freshman point guard David Collins, who has scored in double figures the last six games. In the Bulls’ latest 73-61 loss to SMU on Sunday, Collins scored a team-high 17 points.
With only three conference games remaining this season, the best USF can finish in the AAC is tied for last place, which would require the Bulls to win-out against their final three opponents — Tulane (13-13, 4-10), Memphis (16-11, 7-7) and SMU (15-12, 5-9) — as well as Memphis or ECU losing its last three games.
Though it’s unlikely the Bulls will win their final three games to finish the season, they can still surpass their conference-win total from last season (1) by winning one more game. Potentially their best shot to grab that second win will be Saturday at noon in the Sun Dome against Tulane, which was USF’s lone conference win of 2018.
Baseball
USF (1-3) opened its season with a win over No. 6 North Carolina, but has since dropped its last three games — two to North Carolina and one game, 4-2, against No. 5 Florida State on Tuesday.
Despite the skid, the Bulls could likely find more success this weekend in a three-game series against Fordham (2-1-1). The projected starters for the three games are Shane McClanahan (Friday), Peter Strzelecki (Saturday) and Collin Sullivan (Sunday).
McClanahan, who started and held the Tar Heels scoreless in six innings of play Friday, was named the first AAC Pitcher of the Week in 2018, the league announced Monday.
All three games played against Fordham this weekend will be at USF Baseball Stadium. Their start times are Friday at 7:00 p.m., Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
Softball
After opening its season with a four-game win streak that included a 5-4 win over No. 18 Michigan, USF has gone 1-7 in its last eight games.
Five of the Bulls’ losses have come against Power 5 opponents, with their other two losses in that span coming against Florida Gulf Coast, where they fell 1-0 and 4-1.
Batting .375 with a team-high 12 hits and four doubles, senior shortstop Cassidy Boyle has led the Bulls offensively, while Georgina Corrick leads USF in the circle with a 1.42 ERA in 29.2 innings pitched. The next best pitcher for USF has been Kalen McGill, who has a 3.92 ERA in 19.2 innings pitched.
USF, who hasn’t finished the season with a losing record since 2010, will have a chance to return to above .500 over the weekend with five games, all of which are at USF Softball Stadium. The opponents for USF’s last two games are to be announced.
Softball’s schedule for the weekend starts with a double-header Friday at 2 p.m. against Fordham (0-5), immediately followed by a 4:15 game against Drake (6-3). On Saturday, USF will play Bryant (1-3) at 11:30 a.m., then will face either Fordham, Drake or Butler later in the day at an undetermined time. The same goes for Sunday’s game, with the time and opponent of the game depending on the result of other games.
Track and Field
The Bulls had 44 student-athletes compete in the Akron Invitational, a two-day meet where USF finished with four event wins and 19 top-five finishes last weekend.
This weekend, the Bulls will travel to Birmingham, Alabama to compete in the AAC Indoor Championships. As a team, USF finished in last place in the competition last season for both the men’s and women’s teams.
Men’s and Women’s Tennis
Last spring, both the men’s and women’s tennis teams won the AAC Tournament. In 2018, however, the teams have faltered.
The men, who have won the AAC every year since its inception in 2013, are 2-6. The women, who are coming off their first ever conference title, are 2-5.
Both teams will play at Oklahoma on Friday, with the women playing one more match to close the weekend against Tulsa at 2 p.m.