Ruth, DiMaggio, Mantle, Jeter...Maruszak?

Addison Maruszak won't return to USF for his senior year after signing a professional contract with the New York Yankees, as reported by St Petersburg Times USF beat writer Greg Auman.
Auman reports that Maruszak said he expects to report to Staten Island, where the Yankees have a short-season rookie-league team that begins its season next week.
It's a long, winding road to the majors, but Maruszak has been drafted at a time when Yankees GM Brian Cashman and Yankee ownership seem to be committed to making a youth movement. If Maruszak can prove he belongs at shortstop during his stay in the minors, he could be a possible successor to Derek Jeter, who turns 34 this year. The Yankees' other potential shortstop, third baseman Alex Rodriguez, turns 33 this year.

Random MLB Draft thoughts

Former USF ace Daniel Thomas was picked in the 13th round by the Oakland Athletics, shortstop Addison Maruszak had his dream come true and was drafted in the 17th round by the New York Yankees, and SIX of USF's 11 signees for next season were drafted in the first 50 rounds of the 2008 MLB Draft.
It will be interesting to follow Thomas with the A's. He has overpowering velocity, but he will have to work on consistently getting guys out. Having a 91 mph fastball with control is much better than a 96 mph one with moments of wildness, that is the difference betweenThomas being a future A.J Burnett or a future John Smoltz.
As far as recruits go, nothing has been commented on their decisions to go to USF or to the pros, but catcher Adrian Nieto and LHP Anthony Ferrara went in the fifth and seventh rounds, respectively, and odds are they will probably turn pro.

Louisville 10-USF 2. Final

Hobbs walked in the Bulls' second run of the game. Miserable night for USF, Louisville couldn't have asked for a more perfect scenario.
The series wraps up tomorrow at noon.

Louisville 10-USF 1. Bottom 9th

Not a good night for the Bulls, who were down 2-0 in the first inning and trailed throughout.
Leadoff man John Dao and cleanup hitter had an outstanding day for a Cardinal lineup that was consistent one through nine.
(As of today)
Villanova: 8th place in the Big East. 4-7 in the conference, 15-17 verall.
USF: 9th in the Big East. 5-9, 15-18

Louisville 10-USF 7. Final

The Cardinals walk away with a priceless comeback win that puts them back at .500 in the Big East. USF keeps blowing late leads in conference games and fall to 5-8 in the Big East.
Both teams played well in an intense game, no complaints from either coach about how USF or Louisville played.

9th Inning. Sanford gone wild. Louisville 10-USF 7

Shawn Sanford, USF's closer, unraveled in the top of the ninth inning.
Andrew Clark hit a Grand Slam with nobody out in the top of the ninth to give Louisville a 10-7 lead.
There are runners on first and second and one out still in the top of the ninth, but Sanford has been pulled out of the game.

Bulls update.Bottom 5th. Angelberger Grand Slam ties game up.

First Baseman Joey Angelberger blasted a pitch from Zach Pitts to turn a 4-0 Louisville lead into a 4-4 tie.
Daniel Thomas lasted 4 2/3 tonight as the Bulls' starter.
Villanova lost 2-1 to Notre Dame and Connecticut upset St John's at St John's with a 2-1 win, so no matter what happens tonight, the Bulls will be in 8th place in the Big East at least until tomorrow.

Bulls lose series in Morgantown, but stay alive in the Big East.

A 5-2 win today prevented USF from falling to 4-8 in the Big East, instead standing at 5-7, 1 game behind eighth place Villanova.
In order to stay alive for the postseason, the USF bullpen, which blew a 13-4 eighth inning lead on Saturday, has to shake away its doubts and improve.
Good to see some consistency from the USF offense.

Bethune Cookman- USF live

Wildcats and Bulls are about to begin part two of their two game home-and-home series.
Couple of questions for this one:
Can USF be consistent and continue to play offensively like it did last night against UCF?
Who good is Bethune Cookman's pitching? On paper, its four top starters all have winning records and ERA's under 5.00

First pitch has been delayed until 7.45 P.M

Georgetown 8-USF 7. Final.

The Bulls let another one slip away, and the Hoyas are back in the Big East hunt.
Strong points of the weekend:
USF's top of the order.
Geotrgetown's amazing resiliency.

Low points:

USF Bullpen

Georgetown 8-USF 7. Bottom 9th

pinch hitters Junior Carlin, Trey Manz and right fielder Mike Consolmagno are scheduled to come to bat in the bottom of the ninth.
Jack Bender is closing for the Hoyas.
Carlin just walked and the fans in the stadium are getting excited.

Unbelievable game. Georgetown 8-USF 7. Top 9th

USF was up 7-1 in the top of the seventh. Georgetown then goes on to score seven runs in the next two innings, including five in the eighth.
The Bulls are 4-4 in the Big East, Georgetown is 2-7.
USF had a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the inning, but Smith's line drive went right to the shortstop who tagged out Angelberger to end the inning.

Georgetown beats USF with explosive 7th inning

If this series against Georgetown is a test of whether USF is a contender or a pretender, the Bulls failed the second test of the weekend as they allowed all six runs from the Hoyas in the top of the 7th inning.
Coach Prado is out because of the flu and was replaced by Assistant Coach Lazer Collazzo. Nobody knows if he will be ready to go on Sunday.
Tomorrow's series finale starts at 1 o'clock at Red McEwen Field, and the Bulls need to win it if they don't want to fall under .500 for the first time since they were 3-5

Clutch

Sanford struck out the last two batters with runners on second and third to close out a huge 2-1 win for the Bulls, who now improve to 4-3 in the Big EAST

USF 2- G'Town 1. Top 9th. Fontanez gets standing ovation.

Randy Fontanez is out of the game after pitching eight stellar innings, allowing just four hits and a run. As he left the mound, Fontanez got an standing ovation from the crowd.
Right now we are set for another dramatic ending here at Red McEwen Field, as the Hoyas have runners on second and third with one out and closer Shawn Sanford is about to attempt to get the last two outs.
Tension in the air at Red McEwen Field.

Fontanez had no hitter for 5 1/3 innings

Randy Fontanez, a USF freshman, had a no hitter through 5 1/3 until an infield single put an end to it just as the fans were starting to think about it.
Right now, in the top of the 7th inning, the Bulls are hanging on to a 2-1 lead.

USF 2- G'town 0. Top 5th

The Bulls are up against the Hoyas more than halfway through the game Maruszak was driven in by Angelberger and Hobbs drove in Lovckwood in the first inning for the only runs in the game so far.
Fontanez looks solid and poised.

Georgetown-USF preview

There are certain games and certain series that determines a team's personality and aspirations.
This is one of those games for the Bulls, as they will try to leave their inconsistencies behind and assert themselves as Big East contenders.
Georgetown is a dangerous below .500 team that is woefully inconsistent but catches fire offensively sometimes.
For those of you who read this blog, I encourage you to post your comments and your opinion: Are the Bulls contenders or pretenders?

Bulls win it in the 9th

a single to deep CF with 1 out and a runner on third was all that USF needed to pull off yet another miraculous comeback. USF is now 10-5 overall and 2-0 in the Big East.
USF will try to get the sweep tomorrow at 1 P.M

8th inning. USF 6- Seton Hall 6

The Bulls keep coming back. Seton Hall's head coach must be ripping out his hair right now.
The Pirates came right back with 3 runs in the top of the seventh, but what was a 6-4lead dissapeared in the eighth thanks to a two run home run by Joey Angelberger.
USF seems to have nine lives, and it isn't afraid to use them.