USF Softball took its fourth conference series with a three game sweep over Tulsa this weekend.

The Bulls’ (33-12-1, 12-5-1) continued their steady climb in the American Athletic Conference standings and remain on track for an NCAA Tournament berth.

Currently ranked No. 38 in the NCAA’s Rating Percentage Index (RPI), South Florida is looking to make it back to postseason play after not appearing the past two years.

The RPI is a system that ranks teams based on how many games they win and who they play against.

“When we start getting out to this time of year, it’s your postseason right now all the way through,” Coach Ken Eriksen said.

College Sports Madness has the Bulls’ in a regional group with Duke, Alabama and Radford in their latest bracketology.

CSM also has USF as one of two teams to make it out of the AAC, with FAU being the other.

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The series opened Friday night with a 6-1 South Florida victory built by a mix of patience at the plate and timely swings. 

Junior pitcher Payton Dixon worked four innings for the win, and senior Belle Sardja earned the save with three shutout frames.

Eriksen compared Dixon and Sardja to “ham and egg” saying “they played off each other really well.”

The Bulls offense drew four consecutive walks in the fourth inning and took the lead for good when Alex Wilkes punched a two-strike pitch into center field. She finished the game with two hits and an RBI.

Wilkes struggled on Saturday with no hits, despite the Bulls’ offense once again using a multi-run fourth to pull away. 

Graduate infielder Alanah Rivera reached base for the fourth straight game and scored after back-to-back hit-by-pitches.

USF is top five in the NCAA in hit-by-pitches with 47.

Kathy Garcia-Soto followed with an RBI double of her own and Olivia Elliott added a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.

In the circle, Sardja was sharp from the start. 

Eriksen said Sardja had “ice in her veins” after the series was over.

Sardja retired the first 11 batters she faced and struck out four in her six-inning outing, while Dixon took the bump in the ninth to record the final three outs.

“It looks like [Dixon is] back to that comfort zone,” Eriksen said. 

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South Florida completed the weekend sweep on Sunday, with another strong offensive showing.

Catcher Josie Foreman knocked a career high of 4 hits in the afternoon, leading the Bulls’ 12 total hits.

“It was just nice to, like, finally break through,” she said post game. “This weekend was a lot better than last weekend was,”

With just two regular-season series remaining and the AAC tournament set to begin May 7 at USF Softball Stadium, the Bulls are firmly in the postseason conversation.