Bulls Open BIG EAST Championships Tue. vs. Pitt

[Brad]

Courtesy USF

Bulls Open BIG EAST Championships With Pittsburgh On Tuesday

TAMPA, Fla. (May 21, 2007) – The University of South Florida opens the 2007 BIG EAST Baseball Championship on Tuesday, May 22 when the Bulls face off with Pittsburgh at 5 p.m. at KeySpan Park in Brooklyn, N.Y.  

Fans can listen to all of the Bulls' tournament games live on USF's Press Pass, as Garrett Walvoord calls the play-by-play. Log on to the USF Press Pass at www.GoUSFBulls.com to sign up for the live broadcasts.  

USF finished the regular season fifth in the league after posting a 13-14 conference clip and a 32-24 overall record. The Panthers registered a 27-25 overall record, and their 15-11 conference record earned them the fourth seed in the double-elimination post-season tournament.

USF and Pitt opened the 2007 BIG EAST season with a three-game set in Tampa, March 16-18. The Bulls took two of three from the Panthers, winning the first game 4-2, and the last 5-2, but dropping the middle game 5-2. Senior pitchers Danny Otero and Chris Delaney each picked up wins for the Bulls, who were 15-7 overall after the series.  

In the three games, USF outscored Pitt 11-9, but were out-hit 25-19 and had a lower batting average, recording a .218 clip while the Panthers were at .260.  

In that series, junior middle infielders Walter Diaz and Dexter Butler led the Bulls offensively, registering .455 and .444 averages at the plate, respectively. Diaz collected five hits and stole two bases while Butler produced four hits and drove in two runs. Both players had a home run and Butler had two doubles, as Diaz had one.  

On the mound, Delaney allowed no earned runs in 6.2 innings of work, earning his fourth win of the season. Otero struck out eight batters in 8.0 innings, and senior closer Yuri Higgins picked up a save by striking out four in his 2.1-inning outing.  

Upon a USF win on Tuesday, the Bulls will play at 8 p.m. on Wednesday against the winner of the No. 1 St. John's / No. 8 Connecticut match up. If USF loses to Pittsburgh, the Bulls will play the loser of the Red Storm / Husky game at 1 p.m.

The Bulls have qualified for the conference tournament 15 of the past 16 years, twice in the BIG EAST, nine times in Conference USA and four times in the Metro Conference. USF is 21-25 in those 16 years with one conference championship (Metro), which was in 1995. Also during that time, the Bulls qualified for six NCAA appearances, including 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001 and 2002.  

Last season the Bulls played Notre Dame and St. John's in the conference tournament, held in Clearwater, Fla., at Bright House Networks Field. USF, the eighth seed, lost 3-1 to the Fighting Irish, the top team in the tournament, then dropped its second game, 6-4, to St. John's.

[JoeB]

Go Bulls!  Need Danny O to shut down the Panthers today.

[gurlybull]

I like how the tournament moves around with the Big East teams.  I cant stand how womens basketball is ALWAYS in Connecticut.  It is a home game for them every year.  GO BASeball BULLS!!!    ;D

[JoeB]

This ballpark is really cool.  Its right on the beach at Coney Island, NY.  You can see the surf roll in at times, and then to the leftfield side of the stadium, there is the boardwalk with the roller coaster.