Bulls Swept by Notre Dame

Jonathan Koscso continues to hit well, but the Bulls were swept by Notre Dame. (Picture:www.gousfbulls.com)

The USF Bulls baseball season is all but over at this stage after being swept by Notre Dame on Saturday in a double header.

The Bulls fell in game one 10 to 5. Jonathan Koscso was 2 for 4 in the game. Daniel Rockhold was 2 for 4 as well. Andrew Longley was 1 for 5 with a homerun and 2 RBI. Todd Brazeal was 0 for 4 with 4 strikeouts as the offense simply could not score enough runs again, the same story they have had all season. Junior Carlin got the start, pitching 4.1 innings, giving up 3 hits, 2 runs, walking 4, and striking out 2. He hit 84 pitches as he continues to build up his arm strength. Matt Reed got the loss (4-4) after going 1 inning, giving up 2 hits, 4 runs, and walking 2. [keep reading]

The Bulls pitching did better in game two, but the offense came up short in the 6 to 3 loss. Jonathan Koscso was 1 for 3 with an RBI. James Ramsay was 3 for 3. Chad Taylor was 2 for 3, but it just wasn't enough offense to help the Bulls as they continue to slide. Kyle Parker got the loss (0-1) after pitching 4 innings, giving up 4 hits, 3 runs, walking 1, and striking out 1. Nick Gonzalez was terrible in relief, going .2 innings, giving up 2 hits, 2 runs, and 2 walks.

The Bulls are now 22-28 (11-13) on the season and have fallen to 9th place in the Big East, half game behind Seton Hall. Let's be realistic here with this team, unless there is a miracle, the Bulls are out of the Big East tournament (only 8 times go to Clearwater). They are falling flat at the worst time. The offense is coming up short and the lack of power and ability to get on base and produce runs is killing the team. The horrible pitching, aside from Fontanez, are not getting anyone out and giving up tons of runs.

The Bulls take on North Florida Tuesday night at home (game is scheduled for 7 pm). North Florida is 25-24 on the season (12-12 on the road) as the Bulls wrap up their non-conference schedule. This is a do or die game for their momentum before they take on Pitt this weekend in what could be the last gasp for the 2011 season.