The USF Baseball team entered the field knowing two things: They needed a win no matter what, and they needed a bit of help. If the Bulls got a win today, it would put them in good shape for a spot in the Big East Championship tournament as long as one of the teams ahead of them would lose.
Even if they could seal a win today, USF would need help in the form of a Seton Hall loss (vs. Georgetown), a Cincinnati loss (vs. Connecticut), or a Notre Dame loss (at Louisville).
By the way, they were giving out these sweet posters at the gate to the first 1000 fans to enter the stadium.
It was senior day, and after honoring all the graduating players, Kyle Parker got the ball to get this game started. The Seton Hall-Georgetown game was already underway. Georgetown had jumped out to a 2-0 lead by first pitch, and the Cincy and Notre Dame games were just beginning. Things looked promising for the Bulls early as Daniel Rockhold hit a 2nd inning solo home run to put USF ahead 1-0. At the same time as this, Notre Dame plated one run in the top of the 2nd to take the lead. Over in Cincinnati, the Bearcats jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the third as well. Seton Hall cut Georgetown's lead in half to 2-1.
USF's lead stood until the 5th when Pitt LF John Schultz doubled to score a run, ending Parker's day. By this time, Seton Hall had taken a 3-2 lead, Notre Dame was up 2-1, and Cincy exploded for 4 runs, jumping out to a 5-2 lead. Things were not looking promising for USF. It got worse in the 7th, where Pitt tacked on another run on an RBI single by Schultz again, but the damage was minimized when a second run trying to cross the plate was gunned down by Chad Taylor. At the end of 7 it was 3-1 Pitt, 6-2 Cincinnati, 2-1 Notre Dame, and Seton Hall had won 6-3.
When the 9th came about, things looked all but over for South Florida. After Kevin Quackenbush made a throwing error in a pick-off attempt, sending the runner to third. He then struck out two more, but allowed an RBI single to increase Pitt's lead to 3-1. Cincy was up 7-2, so that game looked over, and Louisville was hanging around, but still trailing 2-1.
Then the bottom of the ninth came. Sam Mende drew a leadoff walk, followed by another walk to Daniel Rockhold. Alex Mendez ripped a single to load the bases with no outs. Todd Brazeal had a long at-bat, but closed it out with a walk to bring in a run. 3-2 Pitt, 7-3 Cincy, 2-1 Notre Dame.
Chad Taylor dribbled a ball in the infield, where Rockhold got thrown out at home, but a throwing error by the Pittsburgh catcher trying to turn a double play (which would have been USF's sixth double play of the day) sent Mendez across the plate and Brazeal to third. 3-3-in the USF-Pitt game, 7-4 Cincy, still 2-1 Notre Dame.
The Cincinnati game had just ended, 7-4, and there was one out with runners at the corners for USF. In more than one sense, this was their last chance. USF sent out Luis Llerena out to the batter box to try and get Brazeal home to walk off with a victory. The other games weren't in their minds right now. This was it. Llerena squared off to bunt, and sent a dribbler back to the mound. Pitcher Alex Caravella scrambled for the ball, losing control of it and having to dive to the ground to grab it. Brazeal raced home, but there was no play. Caravella never got a handle on the baseball, and Brazeal crossed the plate without a play. The entire USF team spilled out of the dugout and piled on Llerena at first base. The Bulls had won, the seniors were sent off with a win they'll remember forever, and the Louisville game was not yet over. There was still a chance. The score in Louisville was still the same in the bottom of the ninth. With two outs and two on base, U of L's Drew Haynes grounded out to close out the game. 2-1 Notre Dame. The Cardinals weren't too worried about the loss, as they had clinched the sixth seed in the Big East Tournament.
USF got their first win in the new stadium with a walk-off against Elon. It seemed fitting that their last win of the season would be in such dramatic fashion. There really was only one word for today's victory: bittersweet. The win was the most exciting of the season, and the suspense of watching all the other games made it that much more interesting. Now USF has tallied a losing record for the second straight season for the first time in 30 years, and AD Doug Woolard has assured us that Coach Lelo Prado will indeed be returning next year. So, it looks like at least for the next few years this fantastic baseball stadium will be hosted by a mediocre team.
At least we have football.
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