Violet Vasquez Pimentel

As the late-afternoon sun settled over Corbett Stadium on Sunday during USF football’s annual spring game, the scene carried the feel of both a preview and a promise. Across the field, steel beams and the rising structure of the upcoming on-campus stadium framed what the program will soon call home. On the field, under a lightly clouded Tampa sky, the Bulls offered a glimpse of what might fill it.

In just their second season, the Bulls (10-4, 5-0 American) secured at least a share of the American Conference regular-season title with a 17-4 win over East Carolina on Saturday. South Florida’s rise has placed it in rare company. Along with Florida, it is one of the only Division I programs to win a conference regular-season title within its first two seasons. The shift from building a foundation to managing expectations, is something coach Mindy McCord said has defined the Bulls’ second season.

USF baseball dropped two of three games to conference foe UAB in a series over the weekend at home. South Florida’s loss came behind struggling pitch control and an offensive outburst from UAB, which saw it score 20 combined runs in the first two games of the series. Coach Mitch Hannahs said he believes control was the biggest issue for his pitchers in Saturday’s game. “We’ve got to locate better,” Hannahs said.