Times wires
Saturday, May 21, 2011
TAMPA — The USF baseball team beat Pittsburgh 4-3 Saturday, rallying to score three runs in the ninth.
But the Bulls still came up empty on senior day.
In addition to the win, USF (25-29, 13-14 Big East) needed one of three teams to lose to make the field for the conference tournament, which starts Wednesday at Clearwater's Bright House Field.
It didn't happen, as Seton Hall, Cincinnati and Notre Dame all won. They wrapped up the last three berths in the eight-team field.
The Bulls have had back-to-back losing seasons for the first time in 30 years.
The schedule for Wednesday's opening day of the Big East tournament: No. 6 seed Louisville vs. No. 3 Pittsburgh, 10 a.m.; No. 7 Cincinnati vs. No. 2 St. John's, 1 p.m.; No. 4 West Virginia vs. No. 5 Seton Hall, 5; No. 8 Notre Dame vs. No. 1 Connecticut, 8.
FLORIDA: The Gators routed visiting Kentucky 19-3 to clinch a share of the SEC regular-season title. UF (41-15, 22-8) is the No. 3 seed in the eight-team conference tournament and faces Mississippi State in the first round on Wednesday in Hoover, Ala.
TAMPA OUT: The Tampa Spartans were eliminated from the Division II South Region tournament with a 5-3 loss against Sunshine State Conference rival Barry in Pensacola. UT (36-17) led 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth on a two-out single by catcher Adam Pendleton.
ECKERD: Junior right-handed pitcher Joey Cuda, a former Canterbury High standout, was named to the All-South Region first team.
USF Hall of Fame
USF announced the members of its 2011 Hall of Fame class in a ceremony on campus, with former basketball star Radenko Dobras, who helped lead the school to its only two NCAA Tournament appearances in 1990 and '92, and former NFL star Anthony Henry highlighting the class. Other inductees: Michelle Collier (volleyball), Fergus Hopper (men's soccer), Monica Triner (softball) and former men's swimming coach Robert Grindey.
Other sports
SOFTBALL: Florida State won two elimination games at the Athens (Ga.) Region to stay alive in the NCAA tournament. Redshirt freshman Jessica Nori earned both victories for the Seminoles (32-27). She pitched 31/3 innings in relief of a 6-1 win over Georgia State, then threw a complete game in a 13-1 rout over UAB. FSU must defeat host Georgia twice to reach the 16-team Super Region round; the first game starts at noon. Also, Florida (49-9) defeated UCLA 4-2 to advance to the Gainesville Region final. Freshman Hannah Rogers pitched a complete game for the Gators, striking out nine. The Bruins (35-18) eliminated Jacksonville with a 12-4 win and meet UF at 1 p.m. today; if UCLA wins, it forces another game for a Super Region berth. Earlier, Jacksonville eliminated Bethune-Cookman 8-0.
LACROSSE: The Florida women, who made the final eight of the NCAA tournament in their second season, were eliminated with a 5-4 loss to visiting Duke. The Gators finished 16-4. Northwestern joins three ACC teams — Duke, North Carolina and defending champion Maryland — in the Final Four.
GOLF: UF won the men's Southeast Florida Region at the Golden Ocala Golf Club to qualify for the NCAA tournament. The Gators finished six strokes ahead of defending national champion Augusta State; UCF finished 13th. Florida State tied for eighth at its region in Zionsville, Ind., 17 shots behind the top-five qualifying cutoff. The national tournament is May 31 to June 5 in Stillwater, Okla.
REALLY LONG ROAD TRIP: Drake and a Mexican all-star team made history by playing the first college football game in Africa. The Bulldogs, a non-scholarship program, beat the CONADEIP All-Stars 17-7 in front of about 12,000 in Arusha, Tanzania. The exhibition was part of a two-week trip organized by Drake that includes youth clinics, a safari, and a five-day climb to the summit of the 19,340-foot Kilimanjaro.
MEN'S BASKETBALL: Sophomore forward Luke Hancock is transferring from George Mason, and the school said he plans to enroll at Louisville.