Baseball team looks to move up in C-USA

With the conference tournament coming up, the Bulls start a key series today with Memphis.

By ROD GIPSON

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 5, 2000

TAMPA -- If the USF baseball team needs any type of guidelines heading into its final two series of the regular season, all it needs to do is look back at its past two.

That's where the Bulls can find examples of things that went right (a three-game sweep of Cincinnati) and not so right (losing two of three to North Carolina-Charlotte).

USF (24-24 overall and 10-11 in C-USA) is in fifth place after switching spots with fourth-place UNCC during their series last weekend.

That leaves the Bulls 12 days and seven games to jockey for position before the C-USA tournament that begins May 17 at Florida Power Park in St. Petersburg. Currently, the Bulls trail Houston (15-4), Tulane (16-4-1), Southern Miss (14-5) and UNCC (11-9).

USF can begin its move in the standings today with a three-game set at Memphis. After a May 9 game at Florida, the Bulls wrap up the regular season at home with three games against C-USA power Tulane starting May 12.

The Bulls need only to look back to April 21 for incentive. That's when the Bulls started their most productive league series of the year.

The Bulls got timely pitching and hitting in sweeping the Bearcats in Cincinnati 6-3, 9-7 (in 16 innings) and 14-10. In the opening-day doubleheader, Daniel Boyd had a double, home run and five RBI.

Chris Cuccia and Mike Barclay each had two RBI, and Bo Bentley and Bill Nohorodny each hit a home run.

In Sunday's finale, Mike Eylward had three hits and four RBI while junior catcher Vince Parisi had two hits and five RBI, including his first career grand slam.

USF began the Cincinnati series in a tie for seventh place and was knocking on the door of fourth place by the time it was over. They also had climbed above .500 for the first time since March 25, when they were 14-13.

Five days later, the UNCC series began just as impressively as the Bulls had 21 hits in an 18-3 drubbing of the 49ers that gave the Bulls fourth place and wins in five of their previous six games.

But the rest of the series had a different tone. During the next two games, Bulls pitchers gave up four home runs and USF's offense failed to convert on scoring opportunities to fall 9-2 and 8-7 and drop back to fifth. Still, 18 USF hits in the past two UNCC games pushed the team batting average to .301, its highest mark in 21 games. And the Bulls will take an even .300 average into this weekend's series at Memphis.

The Bulls hit just six home runs in the season's first 18 games but have hit 13 in the past nine games. However, Boyd, USF's offensive leader, is suffering from a dislocated right middle finger. He sat out the last two games against the 49ers and could return to action today. Last week's C-USA hitter of the week is hitting .333 with 39 RBI and a team-best 15 doubles and nine home runs.

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