North Dakota State University’s baseball team was unable to overcome a late deficit, losing 3-1 to South Florida on Wednesday night in Tampa. The Bison, now 0-5 this season, began the game with an early lead after Tyman Long hit a two-out RBI single in the first inning.
South Florida responded in the fourth inning when Jackson Mirza delivered a two-run single, giving the Bulls a 2-1 advantage. The score remained unchanged until the eighth inning, when Rafael Betancourt added another run for South Florida with an RBI ground out.
In the ninth inning, North Dakota State attempted a comeback and loaded the bases after Evan Gustafson drew a walk. However, they were unable to capitalize and left all runners stranded as the game ended.
The Bison recorded five hits during the contest. Long, Dante Smith, Caleb Corbin, Kaden Connor, and Tommy Simon each had one hit. Starting pitcher Garrett Shupe threw four strikeouts and issued two walks over 3.2 innings. Reliever Zak Szabo pitched two scoreless innings with three strikeouts and no walks.
North Dakota State will continue its road trip at the Stetson Tournament on Friday, where they are scheduled to play Stetson at 5:30 p.m. CT.
