Bulls’ pitching struggles in midweek matchup against North Florida

Sophomore Drew Brutcher had three RBIs and a home run in the loss to North Florida on Tuesday. USF ATHLETICS PHOTO

USF extended its losing streak to four games after dropping yet another game to an in-state rival, falling to UNF 13-10 after a rough pitching performance.

The Ospreys (11-19) recorded 20 hits against nine different USF pitchers, opening up an early lead 3-0 that they never surrendered. It was a season-high number of hits given up by the Bulls (18-11), and their offense just couldn’t keep pace.

Freshman pitcher Tyler Dietz got the start and had a poor outing, giving up three runs in 0.2 innings pitched. Nearly every pitcher that came in for USF surrendered at least one run and only three of the nine lasted a full inning on the mound.

In an attempt to recover, redshirt sophomore Ben Rozenblum came in with an RBI double to leave the Bulls trailing 3-1. The offensive efforts continued through the third with a single RBI from sophomore Nelson Rivera to make it 3-2, but the Ospreys continued to pour in runs. 

In the fourth, North Florida hit back-to-back homers off of redshirt junior pitcher Joseph Sanchez followed by an unearned run in the fifth for the team to extend their lead 6-2. 

The Bulls cut the deficit to 6-4 with a two-run homer by sophomore outfielder Drew Brutcher in the sixth, but the Ospreys once again had a strong response, going up 11-4 in the seventh. 

USF’s last major comeback attempt came in the seventh with RBI singles from sophomore infielder Matt Ruiz and Brutcher and a three-RBI double by Lane that narrowed the deficit to two. It’d be the closest they would get to the lead for the rest of the game.

Most of the Bulls’ remaining schedule consists of conference opponents starting Friday on the road against Tulane as they’ll look for their first conference win of the season.

The Bulls’ series against the Green Wave begins Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and broadcast on iHeartRadio Bulls Unlimited.