2015 South Florida Bulls baseball team

The 2015 South Florida baseball team represents the University of South Florida during the 2015 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Bulls play their home games at USF Baseball Stadium as a member of the American Athletic Conference. They are led by head coach Mark Kingston in his first season at South Florida.

2015 South Florida Bulls baseball
Conference	American Athletic Conference
2015 record	16–8–1 (0–0 The American)
Head coach	Mark Kingston (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Mike Current (1st season) Billy Mohl (1st season)
Home stadium	USF Baseball Stadium

2015 American Athletic Conference baseball standings
	Conf									Overall
Team	W		L		T		PCT			W		L		T		PCT
Houston  ‍†‍‍^y	16	–	8	–	0		.667			43	–	20	–	0		.683
East Carolina‡^y  ‍‍‍	15	–	9	–	0		.625			40	–	22	–	0		.645
Tulane  ‍‍‍^y	13	–	11	–	0		.542			35	–	25	–	0		.583
South Florida^y  ‍‍‍	13	–	11	–	0		.542			34	–	26	–	1		.566
Memphis  ‍‍‍	12	–	12	–	0		.500			37	–	21	–	0		.638
Connecticut  ‍‍‍	11	–	13	–	0		.458			35	–	25	–	0		.583
UCF  ‍‍‍	10	–	14	–	0		.417			31	–	27	–	0		.534
Cincinnati  ‍‍‍	6	–	18	–	0		.250			15	–	41	–	0		.268
† – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 2015[1]; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

Previous Season

In 2014, the Bulls finished the season 5th in the American with a record of 27–31, 10–14 in conference play. They qualified for the 2014 American Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament and were eliminated in pool play. They failed to qualify for the 2014 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.

Personnel

Roster

2015 South Florida Bulls roster[2]
	Pitchers 10 - Jordan Strittmatter - Senior 13 - Brandon Lawson - Sophomore 17 - Mark Savarese - Sophomore 19 - Cody Hernandez - Junior 20 - Jimmy Herget - Junior 22 - Michael Farley - Sophomore 24 - Michael Clarkson - Junior 25 - Joe Cavallaro - Freshman 27 - Diego Rapalino - Junior 28 - Jonah Owenby - Freshman 37 - Tommy Peterson - Sophomore 40 - Josh Walker - Sophomore 44 - Brandon Murray - Sophomore 45 - Josh Witherspoon - Freshman 47 - Casey Mulholland - Senior 51 - Joe Adel - Junior		Catchers 12 - Levi Borders - Junior 34 - Jeff Korte - Freshman Infielders 2 - Clay Simmons - Sophomore 3 - Kyle Teaf - Senior 4 - Luke Borders - Sophomore 5 - Buddy Putnam - Senior 6 - Kevin Merrell - Freshman 8 - Nik Alfonso - Junior 9 - Andres Leal - Sophomore 16 - Zac Gilcrease - Senior 26 - Paul Russo - Freshman 33 - Vincent Miniet - Sophomore		Outfielders 7 - Austin Lueck - Senior 14 - Vincent Leto - Junior 15 - Hayden Kelley - Junior 18 - Luke Maglich - Junior 29 - Daniel Portales - Sophomore 42 - Ryan Valdes - Junior

Coaching Staff

Name	Position	Seasons at South Florida	Alma Mater
Mark Kingston	Head Coach	1	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1995)
Mike Current	Assistant Coach	2	Blackburn College (2005)
Billy Mohl	Assistant Coach	1	Tulane University (2007)

Season

February

The Bulls opened their season in Clearwater, Florida, close to their campus in Tampa, for a three-game opening weekend tournament with a pair of nationally-ranked clubs in Cal State Fullerton and Louisville, along with Alabama State. The Bulls went two for three on the weekend, upsetting Cal State Fullerton in the opening game in a pitching duel between Bulls ace Jimmy Herget, who recorded nine strikeouts, and Titans ace Thomas Eshelman, who recorded ten.[3] The Bulls then fell to Louisville, 3–7, before easily defeating Alabama State 12–4 to finish off the weekend 2–1.

The Bulls hosted #5 Florida in a midweek game on February 18, and the Gators defeated the Bulls 13–3 behind six no-hit innings from Brett Morales.[4] In their weekend series from February 20–22, the Bulls took the series against Wagner, winning the first two games handily before settling for an unusual tie in the final game due to a travel curfew for the Seahawks.[5]

In the final week of the month of February, the Bulls played a midweek game against Florida Gulf Coast and fell 2–6, losing their third straight midweek game dating back to 2014.[6] In their weekend series against High Point, the Bulls won two of three games, led by another good start for ace Jimmy Herget.[7]

Schedule

Legend
	South Florida win
	South Florida loss
	Tie
	Postponement
Bold	South Florida team member

2015 South Florida Bulls Baseball Game Log
Regular Season
February Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record AAC Record February 13 vs. #17 Cal State Fullerton Bright House Field • Clearwater, FL W 2–1 Cavallaro (1–0) Eshelman (0–1) Peterson (1) N/A 1–0 – February 14 vs. #12 Louisville Bright House Field • Clearwater, FL L 3–7 Harrington (1–0) Mulholland (0–1) N/A 1–1 – February 15 vs. Alabama State Bright House Field • Clearwater, FL W 12–4 Farley (1–0) Taylor (0–1) N/A 2–1 – February 18 #5 Florida USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL L 3–13 Morales (1–0) Peterson (0–1) 2,059 2–2 – February 20 Wagner USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL W 12–1 Herget (1–0) Morris (0–1) 652 3–2 – February 21 Wagner USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL W 9–2 Mulholland (1–1) Adams (0–1) 796 4–2 – February 22 Wagner USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL T 4–4 ^(11) 637 4–2–1 – February 24 Florida Gulf Coast USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL L 2–6 Koerner (2–0) Valdes (0–1) 678 4–3–1 – February 27 High Point USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL W 2–1 Herget (2–0) McGillicuddy (0–3) Peterson (2) 661 5–3–1 – February 28 High Point USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL L 3–10 Silber (1–0) Mulholland (1–2) 612 5–4–1 –
March Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record AAC Record March 1 High Point USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL W 3–0 Cavallaro (2–0) Hoffman (0–2) Peterson (3) 623 6–4–1 – March 3 at #22 Florida State Dick Howser Stadium • Tallahassee, FL L 1–24 Carlton (1–0) Lawson (0–1) 3,944 6–5–1 – March 4 at #22 Florida State Dick Howser Stadium • Tallahassee, FL L 3–7 Byrd (2–0) Eveld (0–1) Folsom (1) 3,900 6–6–1 – March 6 Seton Hall USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL W 1–0 Herget (3–0) Prendergast (1–1) Peterson (4) 451 7–6–1 – March 7 Seton Hall USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL W 7–3 Mulholland (2–2) McCarthy (0–1) 657 8–6–1 – March 8 Seton Hall USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL W 12–6 Eveld (1–1) Cahill (0–2) 701 9–6–1 – March 11 at Bethune-Cookman Jackie Robinson Ballpark • Daytona Beach, FL W 1–0 Valdes (1–1) Lindsay (0–1) Peterson (5) 64 10–6–1 – March 13 Florida A&M USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL W 10–5 Herget (4–0) Ogilvie (0–3) 657 11–6–1 – March 14 Florida A&M USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL W 4–1 Mulholland (3–2) Jarrell (1–2) Peterson (6) 774 12–6–1 – March 15 Florida A&M USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL W 5–0 Cavallaro (3–0) Anderson (0–1) 712 13–6–1 – March 17 Stetson USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL W 5–2 Valdes (2–1) Whitlock (0–1) Peterson (7) 776 14–6–1 – March 18 FIU USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL W 4–3 Peterson (1–0) Dopico (1–2) 481 15–6–1 – March 20 at #18 Illinois Illinois Field • Champaign, IL L 1–13 Duchene (3–1) Herget (4–1) 543 15–7–1 – March 21 at #18 Illinois Illinois Field • Champaign, IL L 2–5 Johnson (3–1) Mulholland (3–3) Jay (5) 1,021 15–8–1 – March 22 at #18 Illinois Illinois Field • Champaign, IL W 8–5 Peterson (2–1) Jay (4–1) 784 16–8–1 – March 24 at Florida Gulf Coast Swanson Stadium • Fort Myers, FL W 8-7 Farley (2-0) Anderson (2-2) 394 17-8-1 – March 27 Cincinnati USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL March 28 Cincinnati USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL March 29 Cincinnati USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL March 31 at Stetson Melching Field • DeLand, FL
April Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record AAC Record April 2 at Connecticut J. O. Christian Field • Storrs, CT April 3 at Connecticut J. O. Christian Field • Storrs, CT April 4 at Connecticut J. O. Christian Field • Storrs, CT April 7 at FIU FIU Baseball Stadium • Miami, FL April 10 East Carolina USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL April 11 East Carolina USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL April 12 East Carolina USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL April 14 Stetson USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL April 17 at Memphis FedExPark • Memphis, TN April 18 at Memphis FedExPark • Memphis, TN April 19 at Memphis FedExPark • Memphis, TN April 22 Bethune-Cookman USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL April 24 Houston USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL April 25 Houston USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL April 26 Houston USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL
May Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record AAC Record May 1 at UCF Jay Bergman Field • Orlando, FL May 2 at UCF Jay Bergman Field • Orlando, FL May 3 at UCF Jay Bergman Field • Orlando, FL May 5 at Florida Alfred A. McKethan Stadium • Gainesville, FL May 8 at Tulane Greer Field • New Orleans, LA May 9 at Tulane Greer Field • New Orleans, LA May 10 at Tulane Greer Field • New Orleans, LA May 12 at Jacksonville John Sessions Stadium • Jacksonville, FL May 14 UCF USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL May 15 UCF USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL May 16 UCF USF Baseball Stadium • Tampa, FL
Post-Season
AAC Tournament Date Opponent Rank Site/Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record AACT Record May 20 TBD Bright House Field • Clearwater, FL May 21 TBD Bright House Field • Clearwater, FL
All rankings from Collegiate Baseball.

Awards and honors

Jimmy Herget

• Pre-season AAC Pitcher of the Year[8]
• Pre-season All-AAC[8]

Kyle Teaf

• Pre-season All-AAC[8]

References

1. "2015 Baseball Standings". American Athletic Conference. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
2. "Official Baseball Roster". South Florida Bulls. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
3. "Bulls Rally Past No. 17 Titans on Opening Night". gousfbulls.com. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
4. "Gators bite the Bulls". prosportblogging.com. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
5. "Wagner College baseball team battles South Florida to 4-4, 11-inning tie". silive.com. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
6. "College baseball: FGCU too much for USF". naplesnews.com. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
7. "USF, Joe Cavallaro Win Series Finale with High Point". College Baseball Central. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
8. "2015 American Athletic Conference Preseason Poll And Awards". College Baseball Daily. Retrieved December 24, 2014.