The Bulls dropped another weekend series, showing familiar problems with South Florida’s bullpen and stranding base runners. 

South Florida (7-7) buried themselves in a hole early Saturday and failed to punch in runs on Sunday. The Bulls stranded 12 runners on Saturday and again in the rubber match against Villanova.

Coach Mitch Hannahs said, at this point in the season, he’s looking for improvements. While he said the team isn’t plateauing, he did say they’re “in one of those ruts.”

“The teams that progress during the season are the teams that have a chance at the end,” he said.

Related: PHOTOS: USF baseball loses series against Villanova

Hannahs said the Bulls need to work on getting on base early, rather than when they’re already down one or two outs, like they did against the Wildcats (8-6).

“We were backed into two outs a lot and needing a timely hit, which, some days they come, some days they don’t,” he said. 

But Friday night’s game was the exception as the Bulls snagged their first walk-off victory of the season. South Florida’s starter Corey Braun pitched another gem, posting eight strikeouts and only one earned run over seven innings. 

It was Braun’s longest outing in his collegiate career and the second win he’s tallied this season, making him one of the Bulls’ most reliable arms.

The Bulls kept pace in the low-scoring game, matching Villanova’s seven hits and keeping the score tied until Ryan Pruitt’s game-winning hit. 

With one out in the bottom of the ninth Friday night, Pruitt slipped the game-winning base hit through the gap into left field. Jackson Mayo, who had tripled to lead off the inning, dashed across the plate to deliver a series opener walk-off 3-2 victory over Villanova.

Related: USF baseball snags Opening Weekend series win – The Oracle

South Florida also continued its series opener win streak, extending it to four this season.

But the Bulls struggled, again, in the middle game of the series Saturday afternoon, taking a rough 12-9 loss.

Starting pitcher Jack Nedrow gave up half a dozen runs being pulled, only tossing a third of the first inning. The rough start in game two was a familiar look for South Florida, who has failed to secure a win in the second match of a home series this season.

But the Bulls came out swinging in the bottom half of the game to close the gap early. Following a leadoff double by Pruitt in the bottom of the first, Sebastian Greico knocked a two-run dinger into right-center field to put the Bulls on the board. 

Meanwhile, Jorge DeCardenas shut the Wildcats down, tossing seven innings and nine strikeouts. He only gave up a pair of earned runs on two hits in his outing. 

Hannahs said he’s been working on stretching DeCardenas, who had struggled in his shorter outings. 

“[On Saturday,] he did a really good job for us through seven innings and really took control of the game and gave us a chance to win,” Hannahs said. 

DeCardenas’ seven-inning appearance was his longest of the season, with his previous two outings being capped around two or three innings. 

Adding four more runs by the third, South Florida had tied it up and pulled ahead in the seventh as Jackson Mayo and Stewart Puckett scored back-to-back homers.

But it wasn’t enough for the Bulls, who stranded a dozen on the base path, while Villanova pulled ahead with a 5-run eighth. 

Related: USF-UCF baseball series exposes Bulls’ weaknesses – The Oracle 

The Bulls kept it close with Villanova Sunday morning, until the sixth when the Wildcats pulled ahead for a 8-5 win. 

Bryce Archie tossed an extended start Sunday as well, tossing five and a third compared to his previous three-inning outings. 

Archie said shorter outings are giving him time to stretch his arm, which is still recovering from football season. 

“I don’t want to just jump right into baseball and go eight innings,” Archie said. “It’s not going to help the team out. I’ll be shot out by the end of the season.”

Hannahs said the five innings on Sunday pushed Archie as far as they could. 

“He was getting a little tired,” Hannahs said. 

The Wildcats pulled ahead in the sixth with a four spot, including a 3-run homer by Aidan Barry. Another pair of insurance runs was more than enough for Villanova to take the series win. 

Pitching, batting and fielding will be the focuses for practice before the Bulls host Maryland next weekend. 

“You just got to find ways to make sure that you play to your strengths and not your weaknesses,” Hannahs said. 

The Bulls will host Maryland at 6:30 p.m. Friday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and Bulls Unlimited.