Kyle Teaf batted .400 with four RBIs in the Bulls’ weekend sweep of Seton Hall. ORACLE PHOTO/ADAM MATHIEU

The Bulls were outscored 31-4 in their two midweek losses to FSU in Tallahassee, but rebounded for a weekend sweep of Seton Hall at home.

“This week started with about as bad a loss as you can have,” coach Mark Kingston said of the Bulls’ 24-1 loss to FSU. “How you respond to that says a lot about a team. We came out Wednesday with a chance to win that game, and then we came out this weekend and swept a good team, a team that won 39 games last year and that will probably win the Big East this year.”

The three-game sweep marks the first since last February when USF hosted Penn State.

Big innings helped the Bulls (9-6-1) win 12-6 on Sunday and 7-3 on Saturday, and dominant pitching secured Friday’s 1-0 victory over the
Pirates (1-8). 

Shortstop Kyle Teaf batted .400 in the series, hitting 4-for-10 with three runs and four RBIs. 

In Sunday’s 3 1/2-hour finale, Teaf’s two-RBI triple put the Bulls up 5-0 before Luke Borders scored Teaf with a single in the second.

Borders gathered two more RBIs with a double in the Bulls’ five-run seventh inning, giving them a 12-4 advantage.

Tommy Eveld (1-1) earned the win after pitching one shutout inning in relief of Joe Cavallaro, who allowed four runs in four innings.

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Teaf also gave the Bulls early energy in Saturday’s game. Trailing 1-0 in the second inning, Teaf’s two-out, two-RBI single put the Bulls ahead. 

Center fielder Austin Lueck punctuated the game in the Bulls’ five-run eighth inning with a three-run blast to left-center. 

“I’m just trying to drive the ball a little more,” Lueck said. “I think last year, I got a little too pull-happy, so I’m trying to use the whole field this year.”

Senior Casey Mulholland (2-2) earned the win after allowing one run through six innings. 

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Junior Jimmy Herget (3-0) won Friday’s pitchers’ duel, as the Bulls scored their only run on a bases-loaded balk in the second inning. The right-hander struck out 12 in eight, two-hit innings, and Tommy Peterson picked up his fourth save after a no-hit ninth. 

“Some days the pitching carries you,” Kingston said. “Some days the hitting carries you. What you hope to get to is a point where they’re both playing at a really high level and you start to cruise. We still have a long way to get to that point, but coming out with a sweep of a very good opponent like this is good progress.”