The Bulls came from three runs down to defeat the 49ers, face ECU Saturday
CLEARWATER, FLA., MAY 23, 2025- The No. 3-seeded South Florida Bulls (31-24; 16-11 American) came from three runs down to knock off the No. 2-seed Charlotte 49ers (36-22; 18-9 American), 7-6, Friday night at BayCare Ballpark to advance to the semifinals of the 2025 American Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament.
The Bulls will make their fourth AAC Tournament semifinal appearance in 11 tournaments Saturday when they take on No. 6-seed East Carolina. The second meeting between the Bulls and Pirates in the 2025 tournament will take place at approximately 12:30 p.m., following the conclusion of Saturday’s first semifinal match-up between No. 1-seed UTSA and No. 5-seed Tulane.
On Friday, the Bulls trailed 5-2 after three innings but used a three-run fourth and two runs in the eighth for the come-from-behind win. As he did on Wednesday, Austin Newton came on in relief for the Bulls, one of four USF pitchers to see action on the day, and got the win. Newton gave up one run on two hits while pitching the final four innings.
Rafael Betancourt went 2-for-4 and drove in the two go-ahead runs in the eighth.
The 49ers jumped to the lead in the bottom half of the first inning, collecting three runs on four hits off Bulls’ starter Corey Kling.
USF responded in the second, getting on the board when Lance Trippel doubled down the left field line and scored Marcus Brodil, who was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Walks issued to Jackson Mayo and Bradke Lohry loaded the bases with one out and forced a Charlotte pitching change. The Bulls got one more run on a walk issued to Carlos Jacome before Charlotte got out of the jam with a 3-2 lead.
Back-to-back home runs by Charlotte in the bottom of the third increased the 49ers lead to three again, 5-2.
Bulls sophomore Carter Murphy hit his first home run of the season over the left-center field wall with one out in the top of the fourth. With two out, Matt Rose singled to left and drove in Jacome, who reached for the second time on the day with a single. Brodil then launched a 3-2 slider off the centerfield wall for a double that scored Rose and tied the game, 5-5.
The Bulls first two batters reached to start the eighth as Ryan Pruitt walked and Rose was hit by a pitch. After a pitching change, Brodil walked to load the bases with no outs and Betancourt gave USF a 7-5 lead with a two-run single up the middle.
Charlotte got one more with a solo home run to lead off the ninth before Newton shut the door, striking out the final two 49ers batters.
Key Stats:
Up Next:
No. 3-seeded South Florida will take on East Carolina on Saturday. The first pitch is set for approximately 12:30 p.m., following the conclusion of the first semifinal. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and can be heard on Bulls Unlimited.
ECU claimed a 9-4 win over USF on Tuesday in the opening round of the tournament. The Bulls claimed the season series over ECU, winning the final two games of the regular season over the Pirates at the USF Baseball stadium. The Bulls will have to down the Pirates twice on Saturday to advance to Sunday’s final.
CLEARWATER, FLA., MAY 23, 2025- The No. 3-seeded South Florida Bulls (31-24; 16-11 American) came from three runs down to knock off the No. 2-seed Charlotte 49ers (36-22; 18-9 American), 7-6, Friday night at BayCare Ballpark to advance to the semifinals of the 2025 American Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament.
The Bulls will make their fourth AAC Tournament semifinal appearance in 11 tournaments Saturday when they take on No. 6-seed East Carolina. The second meeting between the Bulls and Pirates in the 2025 tournament will take place at approximately 12:30 p.m., following the conclusion of Saturday’s first semifinal match-up between No. 1-seed UTSA and No. 5-seed Tulane.
On Friday, the Bulls trailed 5-2 after three innings but used a three-run fourth and two runs in the eighth for the come-from-behind win. As he did on Wednesday, Austin Newton came on in relief for the Bulls, one of four USF pitchers to see action on the day, and got the win. Newton gave up one run on two hits while pitching the final four innings.
Rafael Betancourt went 2-for-4 and drove in the two go-ahead runs in the eighth.
The 49ers jumped to the lead in the bottom half of the first inning, collecting three runs on four hits off Bulls’ starter Corey Kling.
USF responded in the second, getting on the board when Lance Trippel doubled down the left field line and scored Marcus Brodil, who was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Walks issued to Jackson Mayo and Bradke Lohry loaded the bases with one out and forced a Charlotte pitching change. The Bulls got one more run on a walk issued to Carlos Jacome before Charlotte got out of the jam with a 3-2 lead.
Back-to-back home runs by Charlotte in the bottom of the third increased the 49ers lead to three again, 5-2.
Bulls sophomore Carter Murphy hit his first home run of the season over the left-center field wall with one out in the top of the fourth. With two out, Matt Rose singled to left and drove in Jacome, who reached for the second time on the day with a single. Brodil then launched a 3-2 slider off the centerfield wall for a double that scored Rose and tied the game, 5-5.
The Bulls first two batters reached to start the eighth as Ryan Pruitt walked and Rose was hit by a pitch. After a pitching change, Brodil walked to load the bases with no outs and Betancourt gave USF a 7-5 lead with a two-run single up the middle.
Charlotte got one more with a solo home run to lead off the ninth before Newton shut the door, striking out the final two 49ers batters.
Key Stats:
- The Bulls earned their fourth semifinal appearance in 11 AAC tournaments.
- Austin Newton got his second win of the tournament, going 4.0 innings and giving up one run on two hits. It tied for his second-most innings pitched on the year.
- Rafael Betancourt recorded his 13th multi-hit game of the season.
- Sophomore Carter Murphy hit his first home run of the season.
- Marcus Brodil hit his team-leading 13th double of the season to drive in a run.
- Matt Rose posted his second multi-hit game of the tournament and 13th of the year.
- The Bulls drew nine bases on balls and were hit by two pitches.
Up Next:
No. 3-seeded South Florida will take on East Carolina on Saturday. The first pitch is set for approximately 12:30 p.m., following the conclusion of the first semifinal. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and can be heard on Bulls Unlimited.
ECU claimed a 9-4 win over USF on Tuesday in the opening round of the tournament. The Bulls claimed the season series over ECU, winning the final two games of the regular season over the Pirates at the USF Baseball stadium. The Bulls will have to down the Pirates twice on Saturday to advance to Sunday’s final.
