TAMPA, Fla. (Interstat) — Edwin Alicea struck out 12 over 5 2/3 dominant innings and Jevin Relaford launched a solo home run to lead the South Florida Bulls to a 6-1 victory over the Southern Jaguars in a nonconference baseball game Friday evening at USF Baseball Stadium.

The game, which began in the afternoon and concluded under the lights, was controlled from the mound by the Bulls. Alicea, building on a six-inning no-hit performance in his last start against UCF, was overpowering. The right-hander allowed just one earned run on five hits and walked none, tying a career-high with a dozen strikeouts to earn the win. He set the tone early, striking out the side in the first inning.

South Florida’s offense provided all the support he would need with a four-run outburst in the third inning. The Bulls capitalized on control issues by Southern starter Bobby Spencer, who walked two in the frame. With the bases loaded, Eli Thomas drew a walk to force in a run, and Lance Trippel followed with a two-run single through the left side to break the game open, giving the Bulls a 4-0 lead.

The most important sequence of the game came in the middle innings, effectively snuffing out any chance of a Southern rally. The Jaguars scored their lone run in the top of the sixth when Kamero Byrd grounded out to second, allowing a runner who had stolen second and third to cross the plate, cutting the deficit to 5-1. Alicea then issued a walk before being relieved by Ethan Sutton.

Sutton extinguished the threat by getting the final out of the sixth and proceeded to pitch 3 1/3 perfect innings of relief, striking out four to secure the save. His effort preserved the Bulls’ lead after Relaford provided an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth with his solo shot down the left-field line off Jaguars reliever Caden Brown.

Southern’s Kennedy Drexler had two of his team’s five hits, both bunts, and stole two bases. Spencer took the loss for the Jaguars, surrendering five earned runs on six hits and four walks over five innings. Brown provided three scoreless innings of relief for Southern, allowing only Relaford’s homer.

The victory improved South Florida’s record to 11-3, while Southern fell to 3-9. The teams are scheduled for a doubleheader on Saturday to conclude the series.

The outcome aligned closely with pregame projections from Interstat, whose game simulator had forecast a 7-3 Bulls win and whose ELO system gave South Florida an 84.7% probability of victory.