UCF run-ruled by rival USF in AAC baseball tournament loss
South Florida scored 7 runs in the fifth inning Thursday and run-ruled UCF, 15-4, in eight innings to advance in the American Athletic Conference baseball tournament winner’s bracket.
The No. 4 seed Knights, who never led, allowed the rival Bulls to record 19 hits and score 11 runs in the final four innings at the BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater.
No. 8 seed USF jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning before the Knights (33-25) tied the score entering the fifth. That’s when things got out of hands for Greg Lovelady’s squad.
The Bulls (21-37) scored 2 runs before loading the bases with 1 out in the top of fifth. Bobby Boser was hit by a pitch to bring in another run and Eric Snow cleared the bases with a double to center field.
As UCF struggled to get out of the inning and used five pitchers, the Bulls led 9-2. USF scored twice in each of the remaining innings, ending the game early via run-rule.
Every Bull in the lineup scored at least one run, with six scoring twice. Snow drove in 4 runs, while Rafael Betancourt was 4-for-5 and drove in 3 with a home run.
The Knights totaled 6 hits while using 7 pitchers. Only one UCF player — Matt Cedarburg — recorded more than one hit.
With the win, South Florida became the second No. 8 seed to win its first two games at the AAC tournament.
The loss makes UCF’s path to the tournament title game much harder. The Knights will face No. 1 East Carolina on Friday in an elimination game (1 p.m., ESPN+). The Bulls upset the Pirates in the first round earlier in the week in 11 innings.
ECU bounced back Wednesday and eliminated Cincinnati, which lost to UCF in the first round Tuesday.
If the Knights can get past ECU, they would have to beat USF twice on Saturday to advance to Sunday’s tournament final game. The same would apply for the Pirates.
Regardless of who the Bulls face in the semifinals, USF won’t play again until Saturday for a chance to advance to the tournament title (9 a.m., ESPN+), which the program won against UCF in 2021.
Email Jason Beede at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @therealBeede.
