USF baseball fails early test against Florida State
As the Bulls’ bats fell silent in critical moments, USF failed to knock off No. 9 Florida State University on Tuesday.
In an early season test for USF, the Bulls lost 6-2.
Struggling at the plate has been an early theme for the Bulls season. In only four games, they’re starting to show a pattern of frequently stranding batters and wasting essential at bats.
The Bulls couldn’t seem to get a rally going, hitting .200 with runners on base.
Despite taking place at Red McEwen Field in Tampa, the Bulls were met with a sea of garnet and gold in a sold out Bulls stadium.
“You have to expect to win big games like this,” coach Mitch Hannahs said after the game.
“Maybe then you’ll see a little heavier green in the stands.”
The in-state rivalry between the schools has been anything but close, as FSU has won nine of the last 10 matchups.
Still, in Hannahs’ fourth game as the Bulls head coach, the Bulls kept it close with one of the best teams in the country.
Related: USF brings on Indiana State’s Mitch Hannahs as head baseball coach
“Our programs are in a different place,” Hannahs said. “You still have to expect to win those games.”
Junior pitcher Bryce Archie started for the first time in his USF baseball career.
Archie, a two-sport athlete, has been splitting his time between baseball and football for two seasons.
USF football head coach Alex Golesh and quarterback Byrum Brown were in attendance for the Bulls game.
Archie allowed three hits in the three innings he pitched, holding the Seminoles scoreless.
Through the first two innings, both teams allowed a single hit.
In the top of the third inning, a timely Archie strikeout pulled USF out of a jam with Seminoles on first and third.
After Archie was pulled in the top of the fourth inning, junior reliever Landen Yorek gave up two runs.
Hannahs defended the decision to pull Archie after the game.
“We just got him from football,” Hannahs said. “It’s gonna take a while for him to build his arm into baseball shape.”
An RBI single by junior outfielder Ryan Pruitt brought in the first score from third in the latter half of the fifth.
Pruitt has shined for the Bulls so far, boasting a .462 average and a game-winning grand slam against Iowa on Feb. 14.
Related: USF baseball snags Opening Weekend series win
In the bottom of the sixth, the Bulls left the bases loaded following a pair of infield outs.
“In games like this the margins are so small that those little mistakes break open a dam,” Hannahs said.
A Florida State homerun in the seventh pushed the Seminoles lead back to three.
USF’s pitchers had struggled after Archie was pulled, allowing a pair of home runs and 10 hits.
Three straight deep fly balls for the Bulls would spell the end of the seventh inning. Although the Bulls put the ball in play by racking up nine hits, they couldn’t bring runs home.
USF left 10 runners on base throughout the night.
“We didn’t take advantage of those two or three opportunities and that was the difference,” Hannahs said.
In the ninth inning, Florida State would bring two runners home, extending the lead to 5.
For the Bulls, the bats would wake up in the ninth after four straight scoreless innings. USF would score once on two hits before the final out.
The Bulls travel to Statesboro to take on Georgia Southern at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and Bulls Unlimited.
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