Baseball America: Off The Bat: USF Wins War On I-4

[BrassBulls12]

South Florida Wins War on I-4

Separated by about 100 miles on I-4, Central Florida and South Florida have developed the fiercest rivalry in the fledgling American Athletic Conference. And with the American this season changing the format of its conference schedule to eliminate one of the two series the teams used to play every season, this weekend’s War on I-4 took on even greater importance.

UCF won the first game, going on the road Friday to beat USF and Preseason All-American Shane McClanahan, 1-0. The Bulls bounced back, however, winning Game 2, 5-4, and clinched the series with a 4-2 win Sunday in the finale. The series win kept USF (26-14, 9-6) in the heart of the conference title race, a game behind first-place Houston and a half game behind No. 7 East Carolina. It also propelled the Bulls into the Top 25 for the first time this season, as they enter at No. 20.

Coach Billy Mohl said the Bulls knew this weekend would be a tough, low-scoring series.

“We had to pitch well,” he said. “Whoever made the least amount of mistakes would win.”

In the end, that team was USF and the Bulls got the payback they wanted after losing last year’s regular-season title to the Knights and then getting knocked out of the conference tournament by their rivals.

“We remember what happened in the conference tournament against UCF and at their place to close the season last year,” outfielder Duke Stunkel said. “It felt great to take the series.”

USF’s series win this weekend came on the heels of a big series win last weekend at East Carolina, the conference favorite. In both series, the Bulls have lost Game 1 with McClanahan on the mound and then come back to win the series. It is not the path to a series win that would be expected for a team that has a Preseason All-American and likely top-10 draft pick leading it rotation.

At East Carolina a week ago, McClanahan pitched poorly and was unable to land his offspeed pitches for strikes. Against UCF, he was much better and struck out 10 batters in six innings but got outdueled as righthanders Cre Finfrock and Thad Ward combined to throw a one-hitter. The loss dropped McClanahan to 4-5, 3.04, though he has struck out 94 batters in 56.1 innings.

USF’s pitching was strong all weekend with Peter Strzelecki and Colin Sullivan delivering solid starts and the bullpen combining to hold UCF to just one run (unearned) in 11 innings. While the Bulls’ strength is on the mound, they also have been impressive at the plate.

USF leads the conference in runs (254) and is second in hitting with a .297 team batting average. Third baseman David Villar (.379/.478/.664, 8 HR) has taken a step forward this season, helping the Bulls to offset the loss of All-American shortstop Kevin Merrill to the draft.

“He’s improved from an approach standpoint,” Mohl said. “He’s not an easy out anymore. (Assistant coach Chuck) Jeroloman has done a great job getting his mind right.”

The Bulls have grown up as a team. Many of them came to Tampa together in USF’s 2015 recruiting class that ranked No. 8 in the country. Those players are now in their third season on campus and form the backbone of the team. Headlined by McClanahan, that class accounts for seven starters in the Bulls’ everyday lineup, two members of its rotation and its closer. USF’s other two regulars are Stunkel, a senior, and a junior college transfer.

All the veteran players have helped ease Mohl’s transition this year from pitching coach to head coach. He was promoted last summer when Mark Kingston left USF to take over at South Carolina. After coaching with Kingston for 15 years, Mohl hasn’t felt the need to change much, further helping the transition.

“I was fortunate to be left in a good situation,” he said. “The transition was easy. I didn’t have to relearn a system, I just carried on what I’ve done with Mark for the last 15 years. I was fortunate to take over a situation like this.”

With a month to go in the regular season, the Bulls are well positioned to make their third NCAA Tournament appearance in the last four years – since Mohl arrived in Tampa with Kingston and former recruiting coordinator Mike Current, who followed Kingston to South Carolina.

USF has just four more home games before finishing with eight straight games on the road, including series at Florida and Cincinnati. Mohl said he wants to see the Bulls play better on the road after going 5-6 in their first 11 road games.

“We need to take care of business on the weekends,” Mohl said. “If we can play well on the road and win a few more series here, we’ll be in good shape.”

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[NewEnglandBull]

Forgot we play Florida pretty soon.