USF struggles, falls to Oklahoma

every single time,” USF coach Billy Mohl. “It’s just one of those days.”

Redshirt senior starting pitcher Peter Strzelecki held Oklahoma State to just one run through the first four innings. But after ceding a solo homer to Carson McCusker in the fifth and three more runs in the sixth, Strzelecki would depart. By that point, the Cowboys had gained a lead they would never relinquish. Strzelecki allowed 10 hits and five runs — four earned — in his 5 innings of work.

“He left a lot of balls up at the waist,” Mohl said of his senior starter. “[Oklahoma State] did some damage on them. He left some breaking balls up in the zone that they hammered.”

Eight of the Cowboys’ starting nine recorded at least one hit, and the team collected 15 in total.

Oklahoma State came to DeLand after losing nine of its past 10 games, including an 0-2 showing during the Big 12 Conference Tournament. The Cowboys’ pitchers struggled, giving up 97 runs during that 10-game span. However, such mound troubles were hardly visible Friday as Reza Aleaziz and Carson Teel were able to restrain South Florida.

“The regular season is over now. This is the postseason,” Cowboys coach Josh Holliday said. “Those regular season games showed us where we needed to get better. They showed us some of the holes in our game and forced us to make adjustments.”

Now in the losers’ bracket, the Bulls know this feeling all too well. They dropped six of their eight series-opening games during conference play this year.

“We’ve been in the hole before, down one game,” shortstop Coco Montes said. “If anyone’s going to do it, it’s going to be us to come back and win two games.”

South Florida will play today at 1 p.m. to keep its championship hopes alive. The Bulls will face the loser of Friday night’s late game between regional host Stetson and fourth-seeded Hartford.