CLEARWATER, Fla. – Matt Rose entered Wednesday’s game against Wichita State with one career home run in 255 at-bats. He picked a heck of a time to launch his second.
Leading off the bottom of the eighth against Shockers righthander Aaron Arnold, Rose launched a 2-0 pitch over the left field wall to give USF a 4-3 win in the American Athletic Tournament at BayCare Ballpark. The No. 3 seed Bulls, who lost their opener against ECU on Tuesday evening, will face the loser of Thursday afternoon’s game between the No. 6 Pirates and No. 2 Charlotte.
Austin Newton (1-3) retired all five batters he faced in relief of Jack Nedrow, who allowed only one run in seven innings before allowing a pair of solo homers in the top half of the eighth that evened the score at three.
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Rose, whose only previous homer was earlier this season against visiting Maryland, moved to Clearwater when he was two and spent two years at Clearwater Central Catholic before attending and graduating from Cavalry Christian, a couple of miles east of the ballpark on Drew Street.
“This is 100 percent my home,” said Rose. “I went to school five minutes from here, and it was good to see friends and family.”
Nobody will confuse Rose as a power source in Coach Mitch Hannahs’ lineup, but who really cares.
“You can see I am not the biggest power hitter, but sometimes I can get into it and thank goodness today I did,” said the junior third baseman, listed at 5-foot-6 and 177 pounds and who, by the way, is hitting .315.
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Nedrow, who could have made his final appearance in a USF uniform, was fantastic before leaking oil in the eighth.
“I am really pleased with what Jack Nedrow did,” said Hannahs, of the righthander who transferred to USF prior to this season after three years at Division-II Lee University in Tennessee. “His ability to hit spots and pitch today was really important for us. He really settled the game down and kept them on their heels.”
Given Hannahs had to use only Newton in relief, the bullpen should be fresh for Friday. For now, this was a night to enjoy for Rose, his family and the rest of the Bulls.
“He hit that ball 150 miles per hour,” said Nedrow of Rose’s homer. “I knew that thing was gone and I was screaming.”
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