USF Falls 6 to 5 to Pitt

Randy Fontanez had a bad outing and now the Bulls post season dreams are all but gone.

With Seton Hall getting a win over Georgetown, the Bulls needed to beat Pitt to have more control of their post season destiny, but Randy Fontanez struggled and the Bulls fell to Pitt 6 to 5.

Fontanez did not have his best game, going 6.2 innings, giving up 10 hits, 6 runs, striking out 4, and walking just 1. He falls to 5-6 on the season in what could be his last start as a Bull. Zach Pietrzyk went 1.1 innings in relief, giving up 1 hit and striking out 1. Kevin Quackenbush pitched a perfect 9th again, striking out 2 batters.

The offense did all they could, but could not score enough for the struggling Fontanez. Jonathan Koscso was 2 for 5 with an RBI as he career comes to a close at USF. Sam Mende was 3 for 4 with a home run and 2 RBI on the night. James Ramsay continues to swing well after being moved up in the batting order. He went 1 for 4 with a home run and 2 RBI. Yet, despite the nice output, it wasn't enough as the Bulls fell to Pitt and are now looking at a long summer at home.

The loss puts USF at 23-29 (11-14) on the year and are now a full game behind Seton Hall for the 8th and final spot in the Big East Tournament which means the Bulls now need some help to get into the tournament. The Bulls must first win both games against Pitt which I am not sure they can even do that now. Game two is tonight at 7 PM, so get to the stadium and cheer them on as they hope, pray, and look for a miracle tonight. The Bulls have to win both games, starting tonight, and Seton Hall has to lose both games for the Bulls to get in, so pray they handle business tonight and hope that Seton Hall goes down as well.

USF Hosts Pittsburgh

The Bulls face Pittsburgh in the final series of the regular season with the fate of the season riding on every game.

The Bulls, 23-28 (11-13) play the final regular season games starting tonight and what could be the last games of the season. USF has had a rough season and will probably end the year with a losing record, the first time in 30 years the Bulls have had consecutive losing seasons. Yet, despite the woeful season, the Bulls have a heart beat left and an outside shot of keeping the season alive and reaching the Big East tournament, but the Pitt Panthers, the final opponent of the regular season, stand in their way.

Pitt enters the game with a 31-19 record (15-9) and an 8-9 record on the road (hurrah, they aren't so powerful on the road, at least according to the record). [keep reading]

USF Baseball Taking on St. John's Tonight

USF baseball is back in action tonight as they host St. John's for a 3-game series. The Bulls are coming off of an ugly loss to Miami on Wednesday night and are hoping the starting pitching is able to give a better performance. USF sits at 19-21 (8-7) and really needs some wins right now just to stay alive for a postseason berth. But, St. John's may not be so easy.

The Red Storm is ranked 30th in the country. They enter the series with a record of 23-13 (10-4). St. John's is led by Joe Panik who has an incredible OBP of .520. The Storm can score a ton of runs, they recently scored 23 runs in a win over Hofstra, so the USF pitching staff better locate their pitches or it could be a long night for them.

Randy Fontanez is expected to open the series for the Bulls tonight (first pitch is scheduled for 7 PM). Fontanez is 4-3 on the year with an ERA of 2.88, he is allowing opponents to hit just .233 against him.

The Bulls offense will have to get to work as well tonight. Jonathan Koscso is the only Bulls hitting over .300 (.321) and has to be the spark plug leading off for the offense. Alex Mendez (.279) and Sam Mende (.271) need to step up as well to help produce more. Junior Carlin had his 19-game hitting streak snapped on Wednesday (.269) and will have to get back and start a new streak.

This is do or die series for the Bulls. They are already under .500 and sitting in the middle of the conference. A few losses here would put them back at the bottom and nearly end any chance of a postseason berth. Get out to the baseball stadium and cheer for them as they try to get a much needed win.

Bulls Win Double Header

Kyle Eastham (3-2) helped the Bulls win the doubl header today over Villanova.

The Bulls baseball got to work early and often against the Villanova Wildcats and took the double header today. USF was able to get timely hits and plenty of offense as the Bulls woke up the bats and got the much needed wins today.

The Bulls won game 1 7 to 1 and won game 2 10 to 1 as the offense continued to get plenty of hits, work the count, and make great adjustments to the Nova pitchers and got the runners home today. Fontanez was solid today, as he always is and Eastham was great in game two, picking up the much needed win (now 3-2).

The Bulls are now 12-14 (3-2). They are finally over .500 in conference play and seem to be playing well right now. The offense is beginning to show some life now and the Bulls are getting solid starting pitching. Matt Reed takes the mound tomorrow at 12:15 as the Bulls try to sweep the series and continue this new winning streak, let's pray they can keep it going.