Sara Nevins’ signing Wednesday with USF was anticlimactic in a way.

After all, the senior left-handed pitcher orally committed to the Bulls on New Year’s Eve of her sophomore year and never once wavered from that commitment, even with nearly every school in the country still after the Pinellas Park phenom.

Nevins, though, couldn’t pass up the opportunity to continue her career close to home in front of friends and family.

On Wednesday, she made it official, signing with the Bulls at a ceremony in the Pinellas Park Media Center.

"Maybe a couple months after I verballed, schools kept sending me stuff," Nevins said. "Then I e-mailed all the schools back and told them that I had committed and thanked them for their time."

In three seasons pitching for Pinellas Park, Nevins has compiled a 49-15 record. As a freshman, she was named to the Times’ all-Pinellas County first team. In 2008, she was selected as the Times’ All-Suncoast Player of the Year after compiling an 18-8 record with 315 strikeouts and an 0.63 ERA on the mound. She also batted .376 and led Pinellas County with 31 RBIs that season.

Nevins was tabbed Pinellas County’s Pitcher of the Year by the Times following a junior campaign in which she compiled 23 wins, an 0.38 ERA and 297 strikeouts.

-- BRYAN BURNS