USF baseball team’s struggles reach new low

Posted Mar 14, 2010 by Scott Carter

Updated Mar 14, 2010 at 09:25 PM

The warning signs that the USF baseball team might not be as good as advertised have been there from the start.

The Bulls got swept in a three-game series at Florida to open the season, but the Gators are considered one of the nation’s best teams.

The Bulls got crushed at Steinbrenner Field by Miami in the Florida Four, but the Hurricanes are a Top 25 team with great tradition.

The Bulls went 1-3 in the Sooner Classic, including a pair of losses to host Oklahoma, but that was their first long road trip of the season.

OK, enough of the buts.

The Bulls got swept at home in a doubleheader Saturday by Eastern Illinois.

In one day, the Panthers doubled their season win total, dropping the Bulls to 3-12.

Eastern Illinois started the season 0-7, including getting swept by such powerhouses as Southeastern Louisiana and Belmont, and entered Saturday’s doubleheader with a 1-9 record.

Yet the Panthers opened a spring break trip with a pair of wins Saturday over the Bulls. The teams play again this afternoon in the series finale at 1 p.m.

So, what’s wrong with the Bulls?

Well, we’ll make this simple: they’re not hitting well (.259 team average), pitching well (4.97 team ERA) or playing defense well (24 errors in 15 games).

I’ll write more on the Bulls’ struggles in this week’s Tampa Tribune, but what do you think? Can this team turn it around before Big East play starts March 26 against Notre Dame?