03-18-15

The Oracle WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 I VOL. 52 NO. 95

Inside this Issue

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S T A F F

Trans+ Student Union members discuss their struggles.

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Montage

Debt and spending habits may signify long-term problems for new generation.

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By Brandon Shaik A S S T .

S PORTS Bulls set to play surging Tigers in first round of NCAA Tournament.

BACK

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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

Managing Stuck in the gap, money with waiting for Medicaid verdict millennials

By Russell Nay

LI F E STYLE

The Index

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E D I T O R

College education has become a minimum requirement in today’s workforce, but it doesn’t come with a small price tag.

A study conducted by Bank of America and USA Today last fall surveyed 1,000 millennials across the country and found that, while 80 percent believed they would be as financially stable as their parents, about 53 percent are living paycheck to paycheck and not saving for the future.

“I think students have a tendency to pay attention to academics and social issues and their general physical wellbeing many times and not pay as much attention to the financial skills that they need to have as an adult,” said Billie Jo Hamilton, director of Financial Aid. Last spring, the Wall Street Journal released statistics naming the class of 2014 the most indebted class, with an average student debt of $33,000 at graduation.

“Students who borrow to attend education tend to have very high confidence that regardless of what they borrow they will not have a problem paying it back,” said Heidi Wisby, assistant director of financial education for the Office of Financial Aid. “They’re, I guess, maybe not looking at the details before the bill comes due.”

Wisby believes that much of

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W R I T E R

Though it is important to prepare for unexpected medical expenses and the financial burdens sometimes associated with health care, approximately one in five Floridians do not have some form of health insurance, according to a 2014 White House Council of Economic Advisers report.

Chad Riese, a 23-year-old USF political science graduate, falls into this statistic.

Like most graduates, Riese worries about paying for college loans and rent. Unlike most graduates, he suffers from epilepsy and has to pay off more than $100,000 in medical debt from costly medications, hospital visits and treatments.

“I’m paying for my monthly

costs going to the doctor and prescriptions, but I’ve taken out some loans that I did not plan to pay for some costs that I did not plan,” Riese said. “Every semester before I was diagnosed, I was taking out subsidized loans like the most of us are on campus … but then I had to start taking out unsubsidized loans, which are going to be more costly and have higher interest rates.”

Riese said epilepsy, a neurological condition that disrupts electrical communication between neurons, is a limiting condition with no one simple cure or medicine.

“You cannot die from having a seizure, but having a seizure in a certain situation … behind the wheel of a car, having a bath alone, scuba diving, or skydiving … could kill you,” he said. “I still haven’t found my right drug. I’ve

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Chad Riese, a USF graduate with epilespy, doesn’t meet qualifications for Medicaid nor can he afford health insurance.

PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

The Great Saiyaman!

The Japanese Club hosted a festival Tuesday outside the Marshall Student Center, featuring a cosplay competition. ORACLE PHOTO/SEBASTIAN CONTENTO

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tried three separate seizure medications and I just started a new one recently.”

Riese said he experienced seizures months before doctors could diagnosis him with epilepsy in 2013, a process that was not only expensive due to medical testing and hospital visits but also mentally taxing and stressful.

“I didn’t want to deal with it at first,” he said. “I didn’t want to talk about it, didn’t want to deal with it, and with school and other things on my mind, it was the last thing I wanted to hear about.”

Though Riese suffers from epilepsy and must take costly medication on a regular basis in order to keep his seizures under control, he still does not qualify for Medicaid because he is over the age of 21 and does not have a child.

While he may qualify for lower coverage costs for private insurance, Riese said he does not make enough money to afford private health insurance, which leaves him with extremely limited options.

Other Floridians, such as childless adults who have absolutely no

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income and those who make more than 50 percent but less than 100 percent of the federal poverty line, have fewer options for health care, as they do not even qualify for lower coverage costs, which places them in a coverage “gap.”

A November 2014 report by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation collected data from the U.S. Census Bureau and found that more than 650,000 Floridians fell into this health insurance coverage gap.

“I tried applying for (health) insurance in general, and I was denied,” Riese said. “I needed health insurance at the time as a student … for preventative care in case anything did happen.

Unfortunately I didn’t have insurance when I started suffering seizures and had hospitalizations.”

As of today, Riese said paying off his medical debt is not his largest priority. Instead, he is trying to pay off his student loans and start saving up for a house. He said, however, he has recently received the help of individuals and grants from hospitals, which have lessened his debt.

“As I’ve started to speak out about this and share my story, individuals are beginning to help me and are wanting to volunteer their services, and quite frankly

money, to help pay off some debt,” Riese said. “I’m very blessed to have met some people who want to help me because again, I don’t think I’ll be making any efforts to do that soon.”

While the Affordable Care Act, passed by Congress in March 2010, expanded Medicaid coverage to all Americans below the age of 65 whose family income is at or below 133 percent of federal poverty guidelines, a Supreme Court ruling in June 2012 made expanding Medicaid coverage an optional act by individual states. So far, Florida legislators have voted against expanding the program.

This year’s debate on expanding Medicaid has carried a tone of urgency due to an announcement from federal agency Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

It explained that Florida’s federally generated Low Income Pool funding will end in summer.

The funding pool has provided Florida with more than $2 billion for health care for the poor and uninsured. This means potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds are currently at stake in Florida’s budget, which creates a powerful catalyst in solving the Medicaid expansion issue.

Though The Oracle reached out

to Florida Sens. Andy Gardiner, Tom Lee and Bill Galvano, they were unable to respond by the time of print.

“Medicaid expansion is arguably one of those (issues) worth going to the wall on,” said Lee, chairman of the Florida Senate Appropriations Committee, to the Tampa Tribune. “But first we have to know there’s an appetite, how we would do it, and I don’t think there’s any consensus on what the mechanism would be to take federal money.”

Lawmakers have been hesitant in the past to expand the program primarily due to its potential long-term costs. While the federal government would pay for 100 percent of Medicaid’s expenses for the first year and 90 percent for three years after, some members of Florida’s Congress are worried the federal government could withhold funding at any time and paying for Medicaid using money from the state budget could be costly in the future.

“At this point in time, we’re not interested in expanding Medicaid as we know it,” Florida House Speaker Steve Crisafulli told the Herald-Tribune.

Still, Medicaid expansion has garnered support from some

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lawmakers, who view Medicaid expansion as a feasible solution to funding health care for low-income Floridians.

“It’s important to realize 38 percent of our budget is federal dollars,” Gardiner said to the Tampa Tribune. “Do you just walk away from (expanding Medicaid), or do you figure out a way to make it work?”

Some private business leaders and health industry groups, like the Florida Hospital Association, also support expansion, and a coalition of organizations has crafted a “Healthy Florida Works” plan, which would create a semiprivate Medicaid program and finance health care for low-income Floridians through federal funding from expanding Medicaid.

At the moment, it may be too early to determine whether or not Florida lawmakers will decide to expand Medicaid in the state, but the Legislature is currently in session and will come to a decision on the issue sometime before May 1.

“Everyone has the right to be healthy and happy,” Riese said. “I would like the Legislature to see the potential in what (expanding Medicaid) would provide … and the impact that these healthy and happy people could have.”

Origami-rama

The annual Haru Masturi, “spring festival,” was held Tuesday outside the Marshall Student Center to celebrate Japanese culture. ORACLE PHOTO/SEBASTIAN CONTENTO

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MONEY

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the financial challenges millennials face are products of a lack of financial literacy.

“We see a lot of students that are not familiar with how to do a budget, how to understand what they have coming in and what they have going out, the planning that’s needed to make sure everything’s covered and save a little bit and plan for emergencies,” she said. “That’s the kind of assistance that we try to provide and we do that one on one and also in classrooms so students can feel like they’re in control. I think that’s what people are lacking these days, they don’t really feel like they’re in control of their finances.”

Additionally, a large factor in student debt is a reliance on student loans as a primary means of financing education.

“Very few families are actually putting money aside to pay for education so people are turning to financial aid,” Wisby said. “We also know that the free money that’s out there, the grants and scholarships, have not kept pace

with the increases in tuition costs. So you have this big gap between what’s covered by families and free money and what’s borrowed.”

According to the Bank of America study, 33 percent of students have a student loan, of which 40 percent of student loan borrowers receive financial assistance from family members in order to make the monthly payments.

Though student debt is an increasing issue nationally, the USF Office of Financial Aid reports that in recent years only 50 to 54 percent of students have borrowed loans, and the average student debt is about $23,000 after graduation.

At USF students can participate in Bull2Bull, a peer-to-peer financial aid education program that aims to assist students with a personal understanding of finances and broadening financial awareness. Students can also participate in group financial counseling and education seminars as well as loan counseling.

“There are so many repayment options for students when they get out, students can go through exit counseling … there are a lot of repayment opportu-

nities for students that weren’t available 10 or 15 years ago,” Hamilton said. “I think students are finding that there’s something that will fit their particular financial circumstances that makes it easier to pay off their student loans.

In addition to fewer USF graduates taking out loans, of those who do, the number of students who default on their loans has decreased significantly from 7.4 percent last year to an estimated 5.4 percent this year. In comparison, the national average default rate for public four-year universities is 8.9 percent.

The Wall Street Journal also reported that from 2005 to 2012, average student loan debt increased by 35 percent while the median salary has decreased by 2.2 percent.

“We’ve seen this all along — ­ it’s probably a little more present in the millennial culture — ­­ but I think that’s a function of a lot of things, not just the age group,” Wisby said. “The way the economies developed and cultural values have changed a lot too, so I don’t think this is new to millennials, it’s just very pronounced because things have really gotten tough.”

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A step in their shoes: the trans student community

By Ariana Matos L I F E S T Y L E

E D I T O R

Imagine living your whole life feeling uncomfortable in the body you were born with.

Imagine, instead of anticipating the day your voice changed or your period came, dreading that day. For many transgender people, this nightmare is a daily reality.

USF’s Trans+ Student Union (TSU), is an organization created to combat the dysphoria and hatred experienced by the community of trans+ people, or those who identify as transgender or outside the traditional male or female gender. Not only is the group open to people of the trans community, but also their cisgender allies, or those who comfortably identify with the gender they were born.

Prin Luis, the former president of TSU, began identifying as genderqueer like many people of the Internet age, through Tumblr, describing a very fluid identity.

“For me, since I’m genderqueer, I don’t feel like I have one specific gender,” Luis said. “Some days I feel really feminine and will dress more feminine, and other days I feel really masculine.”

For Lucas Aiden Wehle, a senior physical education major, the transition from female to male was foreshadowed early in his life.

“I’ve always known I was male my whole life,” Wehle said. “I can remember as far back as when I was 4 or 5 years old, I was always playing with male toys, doing stereotypical male things. I guess I didn’t feel different at that age, it just felt natural. That’s who I was.”

As with many trans people, when puberty began to hit, Wehle’s dysphoria with his body began to set in.

“Growing up and being told, ‘This is who you are. This is what you do and you have to buy into all of these stereotypes,’ was a struggle,” Wehle said. “I was never into being with my sisters or doing what they did, but I definitely felt like I had to do what my parents told me to do because my family is very religious and very into image. So it was really a struggle.”

Luis experienced a similar feeling.

“Freshman year I had a lot of dysphoria and that’s when I started going by Prin,” Luis said.

Wehle started on hormones his freshman year and underwent “top surgery,” or the removal of breast tissue, in August of 2012. His transition is not stopping there.

“I do plan on having a hysterectomy soon, because I don’t need (a uterus). I do plan on having bottom surgery as well but only when they perfect it,” Wehle said. “I think medical technology is advancing, so I think there will be a lot of better options soon.”

Wehle said he has been out to his parents for five years, but things are very rough.

They have not accepted him or his transition.

“I’m very close with my family, we are very close, but it is something I struggle with every day. They still misgender me or don’t use pronouns and use my birth name,” Wehle said. “It’s not even a thought, it’s not like they just mess up once in a while, it’s not even a thought for them. They’ve never used my name.”

“My dad has come a little way, he’s used my name maybe five times in the past five years and used my gender pronouns less than a handful of times,” Wehle said. “Coming out was really a struggle. Everything blew up. My older sister blew up on me. We don’t have a relationship at all.”

Last fall, Luis and Wehle met each other and restarted TSU, a group that Wehle said had a very negative outlook on cis relations with the trans community. Instead of interacting with outside clubs and being welcoming to the cis community, the club seemed to dwell on the past. Now, he said, the club of about 30 members is extremely inclusive and active in the community.

“TSU has become a great organization. I think we are a place that no matter who has come into the room, everyone has felt like they could be themselves. We are a place everyone can feel comfortable,” Wehle said. “We’re a small organization but we are growing because of that. A lot of people have come and enjoyed themselves or learned something. And we’re small, but we’re close because of that. It’s all part of our family.”

Luis said the club is discussion-based and open to everyone. Their last topic of choice was positive trans representation, but discussions can range from broad to personal.

“There have definitely been a lot of people who come to meetings who aren’t out. They aren’t at the point in their lives to be out,” Luis said. “We encourage an open and loving dialogue welcoming both trans and cis allies. We are there to support them. We try to make the environment safe

Lucas Aiden Wehle enjoys educating students about interacting with the trans community. ORACLE PHOTO/SEBASTIAN CONTENTO so that people feel comfortable enough to talk about their experiences.”

Wehle said he is very happy with the way TSU’s defining event, Trans Day of Remembrance (TDR), was executed last November.

Alongside candle-light vigils, survivors and friends gave first-person accounts of their experiences as both trans people and allies.

“TDR is for people in our community who we’ve lost due to suicides. This year we had a great turnout,” Wehle said. “I honestly think it’s because we put it on ourselves. There were some really meaningful stories and performances.”

Wehle said what he wants the most from TSU is for peo-

ple to educate themselves. He wants equal treatment.

“People don’t know how to talk to trans people. People don’t know how to treat us like we’re them. Nonbinary, binary, whatever you are, it doesn’t matter, we all live, eat and breathe the same things,” Wehle said. “What I like to say is, ‘Sometimes they let me out of my cage and I eat real food too,’ because that’s how I feel.

I feel like that’s how people talk to me. I love being the go-to guy, but I want to have a conversation with my friends that doesn’t involve what’s in my pants.”

TSU holds their weekly meetings Tuesday nights at 7 in Marshall Student Center Room 2702.

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the way we’ve done it here for years.”

Catcher Lee Ann Spivey has been the Bulls’ most consistent hitter, and leads the conference in RBIs with 41 — eight more than she had in 54 games last season.

Spivey added three more to her total when she sent a three-run home run over the right-center field wall in the bottom of the first to put USF

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on the board. USF is now 21-0 in 2015 when scoring first.

Sophomore Kristen Wyckoff and senior D’Anna Devine each added an RBI in the fourrun fourth inning.

As a young team entering the season, USF is now turning the corner in becoming one of the most dominant teams in the conference, and eliminating mistakes with only two errors in the past nine games.

The Bulls take a 28-8 record into conference play that begins this weekend at Houston, beginning Saturday at 2 p.m.

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before first baseman Buddy Putnam drove him in with a double. With two outs, center fielder Austin Lueck’s solo home run to left-center put the Bulls up 2-0.

Levi doubled in the third to score his brother, Luke Borders, who had walked and stolen second.

Right fielder Daniel Portales scored on a wild pitch in the fourth, and shortstop Kyle Teaf scored on another to cap the Bulls’ scoring in the sixth.

Tommy Peterson notched his seventh save after striking out the side in the ninth.

“The pitching and the defense have to be able to complement each other,” Kingston said. “I thought tonight they really did.”

The Bulls look to keep their momentum rolling tonight when they host FIU (9-11) at 6:30.

Opinion

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EDITORIAL

College presidents can’t downplay sexual assault all campus-based surveys that have surfaced in recent years have shown the rate of women experiencing sexual assault lies between one in 10 and one in three.

The reason these rates or the Title IX investigations taking place at FSU and USF can’t just be someone else’s problem is that the assumption can’t be that sexual assault doesn’t occur at a certain place just because instances of sexual assault are not reported.

Nationally, one in six women will be a victim of sexual assault, according to a survey by the National Institute of Justice and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A study by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) found that one in four college women have survived attempted rape or rape during her life, and a more recent DOJ study found college students are less likely to report cases of sexual assault.

This problem is so widespread that it’s never safe to say it doesn’t happen somewhere.

Even if the perception that sexual assault isn’t an issue at a particular school isn’t enough,

Though the “out of sight, out of mind” philosophy is one that is often used to avoid dealing with uncomfortable situations, it should never be used to deny the frequency of sexual assault.

However, a recent survey conducted by Inside Higher Education found that 68 percent of college presidents either disagreed or strongly disagreed that sexual assault was an issue on their campus, whereas 6 percent agreed or strongly agreed that it was. Given that over a hundred colleges and universities are now under a Title IX investigation by the Department of Education because of how they dealt with sexual violence, the confidence seen here is not only difficult to understand, but also alarming.

It’s ridiculous for the majority of presidents to deny the presence of sexual violence on their campuses, and it doesn’t matter if these schools aren’t under investigation. To have such widespread denial shows an assumption that sexual violence is someone else’s problem.

The reality, though, is that the problem is a collective one.

As the Huffington Post reported,

the Oracle

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What you said In light of the New York Times’ Room for Debate asking whether the copyright laws in the music industry need to be updated after Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams were ruled to have committed copyright infringement with “Blurred Lines,” assistant editor Sebastian Contento asked students their thoughts about copyright law in entertainment.

the Huffington Post reported “The idea of intellectual the majority of presidents surveyed either did not think sexuproperty is just ridiculous to al assault was prevalent among me. You can make art out schools or were neutral on the of someone’s work, and the issue. whole idea of music is for This oversight is troubling because it begs the question people to enjoy it.” of what it will take for sexual — Sam Beutler, a freshman assault to be a big enough probmajoring in international lem to worry about. studies It’s scary to take the denial or neutral route when the University of Kansas thought it “too punitive” to make a stu- “It’s OK for me since the song dent who admitted to rape do was from back then, and community service, or when this generation is known for the Phi Delta Theta fraternity at Texas Tech University report- remixing songs. However, I do edly had a sign at a party that see a problem since they did read, “No Means Yes, Yes Means Anal.” Denying it as a national not credit the original artist.” problem is even more problematic when even the White House — Tika Castor, a freshman launched a task force for sexual majoring in business assault prevention on college management campuses.

Clearly, there’s no reason for anyone to minimize the issue of sexual assault, and ultimate“I don’t think it’s a big deal; ly it’s a problem that will be music is fluid — a feeling. incredibly difficult to handle if Plus, I think they didn’t do someone, especially a college it out of malice, but yes president, doesn’t believe it’s there in the first place. they should have given

some credit.”

the University of South Florida’s student newspaper since 1966

Editor in Chief: Alex Rosenthal .............................. oracleeditor@gmail.com Managing Editor: Grace Hoyte ......................... oraclemeditor@gmail.com

News Editor: Wesley Higgins .......................... oraclenewsteam@gmail.com Sports Editor: Vinnie Portell ........................ oraclesportseditor@gmail.com Lifestyle Editor: Ariana Matos ................. oraclelifestyleeditor@gmail.com Opinion Editor: Isabelle Cavazos ....................... oracleopinion@gmail.com Copy Editors: Safeena Kassoo, Caitlin Lochner Multimedia Editor: Adam Mathieu

— Julisa Desir, a freshman majoring in public health

The Oracle is published Monday through Thursday during the fall and spring semesters, and twice weekly, Monday and Thursday, during the summer.

The Oracle allocates one free issue to each student.

Additional copies are $.50 each and available at the Oracle office (SVC 0002).

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“I’m glad they’re guilty, because they shouldn’t say it was their original piece, and they are benefiting from someone else’s work.”

— Kyle Yarbrough, a junior majoring in public health

Classifieds UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

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Domino’s Now Hiring Delivery Drivers Domino’s is now hiring delivery drivers.Our drivers average between 12 and 17 dollars per hour including tips and mileage.Must have 2 year driving history, own your own car, and have bodily injury protection on your insurance.USF store contact number is 813-971-7875 and UT contact number is 813-221-1611.

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Baseball

Women’s Basketball

Tigers ready for Bulls after strong finish Bulls

By Zach Lowie S T A F F

W R I T E R

Monday’s NCAA Tournament seeding announcement marked the third time in program history that USF will appear in the coveted big dance. The Bulls’ first round matchup will be against LSU, a team that’s accustomed to postseason trips.

No. 6 USF (26-7, 15-3) will face No. 11 LSU on Saturday in the Sun Dome at 6:30 p.m., with the game airing on ESPN2.

A pep rally will be held today at 11:30 a.m. in the SVC courtyard outside the Marshall Student Center to get fans excited for the weekend’s festivities.

LSU (17-13, 10-6) finished sixth in the SEC regular season standings and reached the semifinal of the SEC tournament where it lost to South Carolina, a number one seed in the NCAA tournament, by 20 points.

The Lady Tigers will make the trek to Tampa for their fourthstraight NCAA Tournament appearance, which is also their 16th in the last 17 seasons under head coach Nikki

Caldwell.

“I’m excited to be playing a very good team in USF,” Caldwell said in an interview with The Advertiser. “They have tremendous play in the post and on the perimeter. This time of year, it is anybody’s game. I want us to make sure that we are sticking to our game plan, and we are going in there with great intensity and a lot of effort.”

Among the field of 64 teams, seven will come from the SEC. Only the ACC is sending more teams to the tournament, with eight teams coming from the conference.

Junior guard Danielle Ballard has had the hot hand for the Lady Tigers recently, and averages 14.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in 16 regular season appearances. Ballard was suspended last November after she violated team rules.

Her return came after a 24-point blowout loss at home to South Carolina in January, when she helped spark a 10-6 record in LSU’s final 16 games.

Aside from Ballard, LSU has depth at the guard position in

handle Hatters in eighthstraight

By Tiana Aument C O R R E S P O N D E N T

Coach Jose Fernandez will prepare USF for an LSU team that has beaten three ranked teams and won seven of its last 11 games.

ORACLE FILE PHOTO/SEBASTIAN CONTENTO

sophomore Raigyne Moncrief and senior DaShawn Harden, who combine to average 22.6 points and nine rebounds per game.

After a rough 7-7 start to the season without the team’s best player, LSU still found a way to reach the NCAA Tournament as a No.11 seed.

Just last year, USF finished the regular season with an 18-11 record but was sent to

the WNIT instead. Now the two teams will face off in the first round of this year’s tournament with the Bulls looking to make a deep run of their own.

No. 3 Louisville and No. 14 BYU will play Saturday at 4 p.m.

The winners of both games will meet Monday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament vying for a trip to the Sweet 16 next week.

Softball

No luck needed for USF softball

By Jacob Hoag A S S T .

Pitcher Sam Greiner pitched a one-hit shutout against Hartford on Tuesday. ORACLE

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E D I T O R

In front of a greener-thanusual crowd Tuesday night, the USF softball team exhibited the perfect combination of dominant pitching and timely hitting, and swept its doubleheader with two shutouts.

The Bulls’ pitching staff allowed only four hits and no runs in 12 innings of work between the two games as USF was able to beat Hartford (1-17) 9-0 and Canisius (6-9) 7-0 at the USF Softball Complex.

USF ranks second in the conference with a 2.17 ERA and has allowed three runs in their last eight games.

“(We were nervous) in the beginning,” senior Sam Greiner said. “Sara (Nevins) carried a lot of the weight last year and years past, and I think a lot of us are now starting to get a lot more innings and have that weight put on us and we’re coming together.”

Greiner and junior Erica Nunn were both able to go the distance and combined for 11 strikeouts with only two walks.

“My defense played great behind me,” Greiner said following her one-hit complete game shutout against Hartford.

“I didn’t have a lot of strikeouts, but I threw a lot of groundballs and the defense

was making plays.”

On the offensive side, USF has been one of the hottest teams in the conference this season. The Bulls lead the AAC in seven offensive categories including batting average (.322), hits (269) and runs (186), among others.

It doesn’t seem to matter who is at the plate for the Bulls, with eight batters hitting over .300 on the season.

“That’s our game,” coach Ken Eriksen said. “If you can keep the other team at zero as long as possible and get timely hitting, there’s a great opportunity to win and that’s

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USF extended its winning streak to eight Tuesday night, with a 5-2 victory over Stetson, and coach Mark Kingston expressed confidence in starting pitcher Ryan Valdes.

“To see the progress of our pitchers is very encouraging,” Kingston said. “Ryan threw a lot of strikes today, let the defense work when he had to and just kept them off-balance all night.”

The right-handed pitcher struck out six through six innings against the Hatters (12-10) and allowed two runs in his longest outing of the season.

“I’d definitely say the palm ball was working very well and the change-up,” Valdes said.

“Getting ahead of hitters, that definitely is always a plus.”

Valdes (2-1), a junior transfer from State College of Florida, has steadily improved over his first four starts. Working with pitching coach Billy Mohl to add another pitch to his arsenal has helped him, he said. “(I) didn’t have that third pitch,” Valdes said. “That was definitely a struggle for me with the first start.”

Valdes allowed two runs through three innings in that start in a loss to FGCU on Feb. 24.

The Bulls (14-6-1) faced five Stetson pitchers, but starter Will Whitlock (0-1) took the loss after allowing three runs through 2 2/3 innings.

Catcher Levi Borders led off the second inning with a walk

n See BULLS on PAGE 5