DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Fresh off a second consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) series win from the weekend, Bethune-Cookman welcomes South Florida to Jackie Robinson Ballpark on Tuesday evening in midweek nonconference action at 6:30 p.m.
 
The Wildcats are in the midst of a nine-game homestand with the visiting Bulls representing the first of the final three midweek home contests for Bethune-Cookman.
 
THE SCHEDULE
Tuesday, March 26
6:30 p.m. – vs. South Florida | Daytona Beach, Fla. | Watch | Live Stats
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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STATS & NOTES
▪ Tuesday marks the fourth of a nine-game homestand at Jackie Robinson Ballpark for Bethune-Cookman.
▪ The Wildcats have won each of the last two midweek games against Jacksonville and North Florida, respectively.
▪ Colby Lipovsky is set to make his first start of the year with the Wildcats, as the junior from FSC Jacksonville started 18 games last season for former BCU baseball player Brad Frick. Lipovsky has appeared in three games this season with three strikeouts.
▪ The BCU offense is paced by Jose Gonzalez with a .338 batting average on the campaign, as the Hialeah, Florida, product has hit safely in his last three outings.
▪ Sergio Rivera owns a .297 batting average with a team-high matching 27 hits, six doubles, two triples and 11 RBIs.
▪ The Cats have swiped 37 bases as a team, while limiting opponents to just 21 steals.
▪ Peter Vazquez and Colton Olasin each continues to be one of the hardest batters to strike out in the SWAC, as both have just eight on the year in a combined 114 at-bats.
▪ Tanner Boccabello recorded his first complete-game shutout for BCU last weekend, as he went nine innings in a 6-0 victory over FAMU in the series opener between the two sides.
 
QUOTES FROM COACH HERNANDEZ
"This is yet another tough midweek game for us. But that's what you want. You want really good opponents this time of year, and you want to go against a team like USF that is always fighting for postseason play. They are well-coached, play hard and are just a fundamentally sound ball club. We will have to bring our best game like we have against North Florida, Jacksonville and FIU."
 
"We battled this weekend against FAMU, a team that's not only the defending SWAC champion, but will be right there in the thick of it again this season. We showed a lot of heart to keep battling back whenever we got down. But we have to start games stronger and faster like Friday night against the Rattlers. We have to be ready right at the beginning."
 
"The pitching staff is starting to come together more and more each and every game. Coach [Joel] Sanchez does a fantastic job with that group. They're starting to click, but, of course, we can always get better and do more. They know that. But I like how we are coming together in that area, and the leaders are starting to emerge."
 
SCOUTING SOUTH FLORIDA (8-6, 0-0 SWAC)
Rankings: D1Baseball.com – NR | NCBWA – NR | USA Today Coaches – NR
Head Coach: Billy Mohl (7th season)
2024 Batting Average: .291; Runs Per Game: 7.4; Hits Per Game: 9.5; Slugging Percentage: .459
2024 ERA: 5.51; K/BB Ratio: 2.0; Opp. Batting Avg: .262
 
BCU VS. USF SERIES
▪ South Florida leads the all-time series against Bethune-Cookman, 42-14, in a series dating back to 1984.
▪ The Wildcats have dropped the last seven games against the Bulls, including a pair of midweek losses last season at home and in Tampa, respectively.
▪ USF grabbed a 13-2 win last year in Tampa, while taking a 9-3 decision in Daytona Beach.
▪ The last win for the Maroon and Gold was one of the most historic in program history, as the Cats defeated USF 6-4 in an elimination game of the NCAA Gainesville [Fla.] Regional in 2017. BCU won 6-4 to set up a regional final against the host Gators.
▪ BCU won the first recorded game against the two teams in 1984, with the Cats earning a 4-1 win in Daytona Beach as part of a doubleheader.
 
USF NOTES & STATS
▪ South Florida arrives to Daytona Beach with a 14-10 overall record after taking two of three from Memphis in American Athletic Conference (AAC) play over the weekend in Tampa.
▪ The Bulls split two midweek contests last week – defeating Florida A&M (9-6) and falling away to Florida Gulf Coast (3-2).
▪ USF is slated to start Dominick Madonna on the mound, with the redshirt senior right-hander owning an 0-1 record on the year in two starts and six overall appearances.
▪ Three players are batting .300 or better for South Florida, including John Montes (.405) with a team-leading 34 hits, 22 RBIs and three home runs.
▪ Drew Butcher hits at a .367 clip, while Jackson Mayo stands at .319 with a team second-most four home runs and 22 RBIs.
▪ As a team, USF has powered out 22 home runs and collected 49 stolen bases on the campaign.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST USF
The Wildcats fell to 0-2 in the season series against USF after a 13-2 setback in Tampa.
 
USF jumped on the Wildcats early, plating a run in the first on a solo homer.

The Bulls put up two in the second on an RBI single and sacrifice fly that made it 3-0.

USF pushed the lead to 7-0 in the third inning after a pair of RBI doubles, a solo homer, an a wild pitch.

The Bulls offense continued in the fifth with another RBI double and a Wildcat error made it 9-0.

The Wildcats finally crackled the scoreboard in the sixth, as Brian Perez came around to score on a Jason Hodges steal attempt that saw the ball sail into the outfield. Boris Pena reached on a throwing error in the same inning, scoring Hodges to make it 9-2. 

USF added a pair of runs in the seventh and one more in the eighth on the way to the 13-2 victory.
 
Nolan Santos started the game and took the loss, tossing only one inning along with fellow weekend arm Daniel Gaviria. The pair missed their weekend starts at Alabama A&M due to the weather.
 
Santiago Gomez, Yoansell Diaz, Derrius York, Dale Michaud, Louis Lipthratt and Gabriel Perez also combined on the mound in the effort. 
 
UP NEXT
Bethune-Cookman has a short week with SWAC opponent Alabama A&M visiting Daytona Beach for a three-game league set beginning Thursday, March 28, at 7 p.m.
 
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