USF baseball jumped out to an early lead and used strong pitching to take a 5-2 home win Tuesday night against Stetson, which came in ranked as high as No. 18 in the national rankings.

The Bulls (18-18) are back at .500 entering a pivotal three-game Big East series at Louisville, which starts Thursday night. Stetson (29-8) had beaten USF 9-0 in the teams' first meeting, but saw a nine-game winning streak come to an end.

Zach Pietrzyk (3-1) pitched three scoreless innings in his first start of the season, and USF's bullpen held up well, holding Stetson to three hits over the final six innings. Shortstop Sam Mende and outfielder James Ramsay had two RBIs each for the Bulls. Here's the full story from USF's official site, including video with Bulls coach Lelo Prado.

GOLF: USF's women's golf team took third in the Big East championships at Innisbrook Golf Resort in Palm Harbor, led by a fifth-place individual showing by sophomore Shena Yang. The men's team tied for fourth, with senior Robby Carl finishing in a tie for fourth individually. It's the final tournament for both teams, though Yang could earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament and will find out next week.

-- National love for USF softball from ESPN.com's Graham Hays, who writes about Laura Fountain stepping in at catcher and how it's sparked the Bulls in recent weeks.