BB: Bulls Host FAMU for Two

[Brad]

Courtesy USF SID

Bulls To Host FAMU In A Two-Game Mid-Week Series

TAMPA, Fla. (March 26, 2007) – The University of South Florida will host Florida A&M in a two-game mid-week series, as the Bulls and Rattlers face off Tuesday at 6 p.m. and Wednesday at 3 p.m. at Red McEwen Field.  

USF holds a 31-3 all-time series lead over FAMU. The Rattlers have won two of the last three meetings, but the Bulls won 29-straight games from 1980-1995. USF won the first-ever meeting with FAMU, a 4-1 victory in 1978.

USF is 18-8 this season after taking 2-of-3 from Notre Dame last weekend in Indiana. The Bulls are 4-2 in the BIG EAST, winning two apiece over Pittsburgh and the Fighting Irish. Batting .304 as a team, USF has tallied 258 hits and scored 190 runs this season. On the mound, the Bulls own a 3.84 team ERA with 197 strikeouts and just 108 walks.  

FAMU is 1-25 this season, with the lone victory being a 6-5 win over the Naval Academy on Feb. 10. The Rattlers are batting .244 from 213 hits in 873 at bats. The team from Tallahassee has registered 16 home runs, 100 RBI and 114 runs scored. The Rattlers’ pitching staff has posted a 6.97 ERA, giving up 303 hits and 240 runs. FAMU has recorded 134 strikeouts and 115 walks.

Junior Dexter Butler is riding a nine-game hitting streak and junior Walter Diaz is on his heels with eight hits in as many games. Butler is batting a team-high .407 (37-of-91) with seven doubles and one home run. Diaz is 41-for-105 (.390) with a team-leading nine doubles and nine stolen bases. Junior Brandin Daniel is leading the Bulls with 31 RBI and three home runs.  

On the mound, Matt Quevedo owns a 3.86 ERA while senior Yuri Higgins has a 5.13 ERA. Quevedo is 2-0 this season in eight appearances, with 21 strikeouts and just 10 walks in 35.0 innings. He registered a complete game victory against North Florida on March 20. Higgins has recorded a team-high 40 strikeouts in 26.1 innings this season, earning a 3-1 record with three saves.  

Darryl Evans leads the Rattlers with a .327 batting average, recording a team-high 36 hits, five of which are doubles. Anthony Mazzeo leads FAMU with 22 RBI and five home runs while batting .313 (21-67) in 21 games.  

The Rattlers pitching staff is led by Ben Baylor’s 4.50 ERA. Cirilo Manego recorded FAMU’s only win and leads the team with 41 strikeouts in 50.0 innings.  

After the two games with the Rattlers, USF will travel to Storrs, Conn., to play the Connecticut Huskies the weekend of March 30 - April 1. The trip will be the Bulls’ second-consecutive BIG EAST Conference series on the road after playing 21 home games to start the season.

[Matt]

1-25...ouch, thats a rough season.

should be a way for us to add 2 more wins to the record.

[BULLfreak]

Seems like most of their athletic programs are have a tough time of it.

[JoeB]

Yep, 1-25 is not good.  We need to take care of business on these two games prior to heading to Storrs.  UConn must not have lights at their baseball diamond since all three games are during the day.

[Ruger7mmmag]

Yep, 1-25 is not good.  We need to take care of business on these two games prior to heading to Storrs.  UConn must not have lights at their baseball diamond since all three games are during the day.

Probably scheduling them during the day to ensure the best possible temps to play in this early in the year.  I'm sure there's been many times that playing at 7pm would've meant some pretty cold temps up there in the past.  That's probably the reason.

[JoeB]

Could be with the temps.  The Friday 3 PM game I thought was a strange time.