The USFSP Bulls’ club baseball team lost to the Kansas Jayhawks Friday night, ending their 11-game win streak.
In their inaugural season, the (11-4) Bulls attempted to keep the momentum going against the Jayhawks, but were haunted by six costly errors and were defeated 7-4 at home.
The Jayhawks’ junior starting pitcher, Matt Carrillo, threw 12 strikeouts through eight innings against the Bulls.
“Since playing Miami, we’ve faced some average pitchers, and this kind of lets us see where we are at as far as hitting goes,” senior Mike Rohan said.
The Bulls’ sophomore pitcher, Jeremy Berger, came into the game in the fourth inning, relieving Logan McPhee after allowing five runs early.
Berger finished the game allowing one earned run and recorded six strikeouts in six innings.
“We came here ready to play, and through the first couple innings we were too flat on our feet,” Berger said. “A few guys were scared of the ball. You can’t play baseball like that. You gotta want it.”
Despite their defensive woes, the Bulls managed to record nine hits off the Jayhawks’ pitcher, including a RBI triple that had potential to be a inside-the-park home run from Rohan.
The freshman utility player, Ryan Oltz, was responsible for three of the fielding errors but made up for it in hitting. Oltz went 2-for-2 with one RBI, a stolen base and a walk.
Oltz was the only Bull to get on base every at-bat and was one of three Bulls to reach a base safely multiple times.
“We started off rough tonight and I was a little shaky, but by the third inning we got use to his pitching,” Oltz said.
The Bulls were disappointed with the end to their winning streak but are staying positive about the future of the program.
“Losing a streak is just going to make you come back harder and stronger,” Rohan said. “It’s a good learning experience for the guys on this team.”
Berger said the team will rally together and promised students this win streak will not be the only one this season.
