USF baseball’s chase for an American Athletic Conference title ended one game shy of the championship.

The Bulls’ week-long run in Clearwater came to a close Saturday after a 9-7 semifinal loss to East Carolina.

South Florida opened the tournament with a tough 9-4 loss to the Pirates, then battled through the elimination bracket with wins over Wichita State and No. 2 Charlotte.

“Champions are made in the fall, and I think we’ve got to drill that in our guys still,” head coach Mitch Hannahs said after Saturday’s loss.

Around a year after Hannahs joined South Florida, the team started the conference tournament as the No. 3 seed.

This was the first time since 2021 that it made the semifinals.

“I think everyone’s been receptive,” Hannahs said. ”But we’re certainly nowhere close to where we want to be.”

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Strong offense kept the Bulls alive for most of Saturday, but a second shot at ECU proved too much to handle.

The Pirates erased a 4-0 lead in the fourth to make the game 4-3. From then on, their bats stayed hot.

ECU piled three runs in the seventh and three more in the ninth, ultimately ending the game with three home runs.

The highs and lows

It started Tuesday night, when USF fell into an early hole and couldn’t dig out.

The Bulls gave up three runs in the first inning and four more in the third in a 9-4 loss to East Carolina. Starting pitcher Corey Braun allowed seven runs in his three innings pitched.

“[Braun] just wasn’t as sharp as he normally is,” Hannahs said after the game.

Despite showing some late life — highlighted by senior outfielder Jackson Mayo’s RBI double — USF left six runners stranded and couldn’t overcome ECU’s 15-hit game. 

The loss dropped the Bulls into the elimination bracket.

They bounced back Wednesday night, edging Wichita State 4-3 in a back-and-forth game that turned in the eighth.

After the Shockers tied it with back-to-back solo home runs, junior infielder Matt Rose answered with a solo shot of his own, giving USF the lead for good.

Still, the win hinged on the outing from senior Jack Nedrow, who went 7.1 innings, allowing just three runs on five hits and walking none.

“He was just throwing well,” Rose said. “He was attacking with the heater and [his] slider was pretty good.”

Nedrow said the moment wasn’t lost on him.

“I thought it was a great day, my teammates had my back all day,” he said. “[I] couldn’t really ask for much better.”

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That set up Friday night’s 7-6 thrilling win over No. 2 Charlotte.

Down 5-2 early, the Bulls tied it in the fourth behind sophomore infielder Carter Murphy’s first homer of the year, Rose’s RBI single and a double by senior outfielder Marcus Brodil.

Then came the eighth. 

With the game tied and the bases loaded, junior first-baseman Rafael Betancourt delivered a two-run single up the middle.

“I know it’s a big situation,” Betancourt said. “I don’t let that pressure me.”

Despite the semifinal loss, Hannahs praised the team.

“These guys came to work every day,” he said. “These guys gave us everything they had.”