USF baseball completed a three-game sweep of AAC opponent Wichita State over the weekend, earning its first conference sweep since 2017.

The team needed some late-game heroics to win a 3-2 extra-innings thriller on Sunday afternoon to close out the final game of the weekend. 

South Florida (19-13, 6-3 AAC) earned its second series sweep of the season and sits in third place in the conference standings.

The Bulls are just behind UTSA (19-13, 7-2 AAC) and East Carolina (23-7, 6-3 AAC), both of whom they will meet on the road in May.

Senior first baseman John Montes continued his hot hitting over the weekend, going 5-12 with two RBIs and a double. 

Related: USF infielder John Montes named AAC Player of the Week

Montes leads the offense in several categories with a .388 batting average, a 1.100 OPS (on base percentage plus slugging percentage), 45 hits and 30 runs batted in.

Sophomore third baseman Matt Rose also made an impact in this series, going 3-3 in game one and 5-8 overall, landing him on the AAC’s weekly honor roll. 

Here’s a quick recap of the weekend:

Dominant pitching

South Florida began the series on Friday night with a 7-3 win over the Shockers (19-13, 5-4 AAC). 

Senior pitcher Hunter Mink had another outstanding day on the mound and earned his third win in game one.

Mink struck out nine Wichita State batters and allowed just six hits and three runs over eight innings of work.

Senior utility player Ben Rozenblum broke the game open in the seventh when hit a 3-run blast that gave the Bulls a four-run advantage.

He is now tied for the second-most home runs on the team with six after hitting another 3-run shot in game two.

Shutting down the comeback

The Bulls won the second game on Saturday afternoon 8-7, but not without a bit of controversy.

Down 8-3, the Shockers would storm back in the ninth with a single and a double to set up a two-run single from their senior outfielder Seth Stroh.

The next batter, freshman outfielder Lane Haworth, then sent a flyball deep into right field.

The ball got lost in the sun and a missed catch popped it over the fence to make it a one-run ballgame.

Sophomore pitcher Chandler Dorsey struck out the next two Wichita State batters to close the win out and earn his sixth save.

Squeezing it out in extras

Entering the 9th inning of Sunday’s game, USF was down 2-0 with an offense that had left 10 runners on base to that point.

Senior outfielder Drew Brutcher then hit a two-run double in the ninth to send the game to extra innings after struggling to hit early in the game.

 As USF head coach Billy Mohl put it, you can never count the star senior out.

“He’s a steady senior and he’s had an unbelievable career,” Mohl said after the game. “He’s never out of it, he always comes through in the clutch it seems. He’s one you want to have on your side.”

Brutcher also made a brilliant defensive play in the second game, making a diving catch in right field and throwing out the runner at second to turn a double play.

His play was featured on Sportscenter’s top 10 plays of the day, coming in at number four.

The Bulls would go on to win off of a bases-loaded squeeze bunt from sophomore outfielder Kohl Robertson in the 10th.

“To be able to win close games we have to be multifaceted on offense, and that was a huge goal going into the fall,” Mohl said. “You get the bases loaded and you use a squeeze to win the game, that’s huge.”

Playing small ball and putting pressure on opposing defenses has paid off for the Bulls, who lead the conference with 61 stolen bases.

Related: USF baseball is ‘out for redemption’ this year, head coach says

Next up for the Bulls is a Tuesday night showdown at home against Bethune-Cookman. The game begins at 6 pm EST and will be streaming on ESPN+.