Collapse: Sweep costs USF Big East crown

USF baseball, needing just one win in three tries to win a Big East regular-season title, instead was swept at Louisville, the final loss a 12-1 rout that clinched first place for the Cardinals.

The Bulls (32-22, 18-9), who opened conference play with a 16-3 record, dropped five of their final six games and will have the No. 2 seed in the Big East tournament, which starts Tuesday in Clearwater.

After two close losses -- 2-1 on Thursday night and 4-3 on Friday afternoon -- the Bulls ran out of pitching and trailed 11-1 after four innings. Starter Teddy Kaufman, who pitched five innings on Tuesday night, retired only one batter, giving up a first-inning grand slam, the first of three Louisville home runs. Relievers Andrew Salgueiro and Zach Pietrzyk combined to give up seven runs in the next three innings, and USF's only run came on a home run by freshman shortstop Sam Mende.

The question now: Can USF put this late-season collapse behind them and regroup for the Big East tournament? Winning the tournament is realistically USF's only chance at making the NCAA regionals -- this weekend's sweep dropped USF to 0-7 against RPI top 50 opponents.

Comments

[JoeB]

Not sure any of you baseball fans realize the Big East Regular Season Champ has made the Big Dance every year since 1996. So for you to say we had to win the tourney isn't true. There have been cases in the past that other Big East champs with poor RPIs have gotten in. USF most likely would have been another one, but now it doesn't matter.

[JJ]

Though the regular season title would have been great, it really didn't matter in the long run. The Big East is not a strong baseball conference and the bulls were going to have to win the Tourny anyway. I also agree that this falls onto the coaching staff. Your best pitcher isn't there in the most important series because he throws 130 pitches a week in games that for the most part, weren't close. Another thing..why is your leading home run hitter and RBI guy benched for the basically the whole series..I mean I know the batting average is low, but come on..

[GP]

Sardo- It wasn't the last two losses that killed the hopes. They could have won any of the six games they dropped in conference play and been the BE champs (reg. season), but that is the way sports work. One loss because of a close play in the 2nd inning of an early season game can be the reason you are the number 2 seed at the end of the season. Not saying they shouldn't have won one of the two games, but it cannot be blamed on this weekends loss.

[CR]

if we are sorry what goes that say about UCF? LOL

[DELdaBULL]

Wow. That is really sad. If we don't win the tournament, we will be watching the big one.

[Commish Chalko]

Wow, USF is really sorry!

[CR]

First off just I am upset and I wish we would have won the BE title BUT everyone here needs to realise what the situation was going into this series.
1. This team WAS NOT going to get an NCAA bid winning the BE regular season crown. It will take a BE tourney win.
2. UL is the BETTER team and the best in Big east this year.
3. Our team is just above avg, if you have been looking at our nonconference results you would have ealized that.
4. This team is ayear away from being a good team, they played UL tough in two out of three games and could had won one of them.
5. If any of you guys thinks you know more about baseball decisions than Coach Prado then really you need to get a clue. He saved his best pitcher for tourney because he knows full well this is for all the marbles.

Good luck to the team in the tourney

[Rich]

JoeB,

Couldn't agree more. Sitting your best guy sends a message that the regular season championship is not important. I also agree that if you do that then you pitch your best remaining against their worst as we only needed one win. Poor strategy.

[RR]

@ JupiterBull...

I'm going to go with "demoralized and fade."

[JoeB]

I saw this one coming a couple nights ago when I heard Fontanez wasn't starting. I didn't like the Stultz/Marks matchup at all. I thought this was burning our best pitcher in basically a no win situation. That turned out true. Then came Sanford's start and he actually pitched well enough to win, but we didn't hit. The pitching by committee should have been used first against Marks (since we were most likely going to lose that one anyway). I would have started Stultz and Sanford in games two and three, or three and two just to hedge against this type of scenario. I don't really blame the kids for this. I blame the Coach. If we were saving Fontanez then why did we bring him in for relief today? Greg please get some answers from the Coach, I put this weekend solely on him. Apparently he didn't really want to win the regular season title judging on his moves this weekend.

[JupiterBull]

I'm disappointed, too, but I'll be pulling for them in the tourney. Will they be demoralized and fade OR get intense & run it? We'll see...

[Sandro]

When you need to win just one game and you can't do that it's just unacceptable.

[BC]

Wayne, the women's basketball team closed out the WNIT on the road AT Kansas

[Wayne]

Have to say USF is gaining the reputation of NEVER being able to win the big one, in any sport, when the win has to come on the road. The only Big East Championships achieved by the Bulls have come when the championship happens to be at USF that year. Lack of focus when it counts seems to be a USF hallmark across the board.

[RR]

Hate to say I told you so, but........I did.

USF baseball's total choke job now rivals the football program's total choke jobs during the past two seasons.

Quite a reputation this athletic department is developing.