USF baseball team defeats UCF, wins first conference championship since 1995

CLEARWATER, Fla. - It was a historic win for the South Florida Bulls’ baseball team. 

The team topped Central Florida on Sunday, claiming their first conference tournament title since 1995.

The Bulls took an early lead in the American Athletic Conference championship game, but the Knights put up a tough fight to bring the score within one run. The final score was 8-7.

By the way, USF was initially picked to finish last in the 2021 AAC preseason coaches poll – but the team proved the early prediction wrong.  USF defeated the No. 3 seed Wichita State, No. 2 seed Tulane and No. 5 seed UCF.

"The championship feat was hardly a Sunday walk in the park for the Bulls, who clinched a spot in the tournament finals with a 7-1 triumph over Tulane in a ballgame that ended at 12:27 a.m. on Sunday," according to a game recap by USF Athletics. "The team didn't get back to their hotel until after 1 a.m. and returned to BayCare Ballpark less than eight hours later for a 12 p.m. championship bout." 

USF now gets an automatic bid to the NCAA regional tournament. On Monday, the team learned they will head to the Gainesville Regional and will face the Florida Gators at noon on Friday.