They had managed just 11 hits through the two contests, and had been held in check by the Lions starting pitching. But that was when Daryl Hernandez decided to have a big day. The senior outfielder banged out four RBIs, leading the Dons (20-31, 8-14) to an 8-6 victory which left them just one game behind the Lions for fourth place in the WCC and four games behind third-place San Diego, USF's next opponent. "(Third piace) is a goal that is very reachable," said Head Coach Rich Hill. "We could have easily folded the tent in the third game, but we came out swinging the bat." That's an accurate statement - USF struck first in this one, scoring two in the first inning when center fielder Jess Taclas led off the game with a bunt single, followed by a plunking of left fielder Paul McDaniels by LMU freshman starter Sandor Demosthenes. A sacrifice bunt by shortstop Jermaine Clark moved both runners into scoring position. A mangled chance by LMU first baseman Andy Collett on a Hernandez hit, allowed both runners to score unearned.
Hernandez' first RBI came on a sacrifice fly that scored McDaniels. The Lions, though, who had pounded out 25 hits in the first two games, weren't ready to lay down. Jason Hueth blasted a two-out, two-run homer to left- center in the fourth, and singles by Matt Plugge, Ikaika Hoopii, and Mike Peters tied the score in the fifth. USF took the lead again on another Hernandez RBI in the bottom half of that inning, plating McDaniels (who had walked and advanced on an error). But LMU took their first lead in the sixth, scoring two to to make it a 5-4 game. The Dons answered back in the bottom half of the sixth behind second baseman Troy Nakamura, who reached on a bunt, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by third baseman Mark Frizzi, and took third on a wild pitch by Demosthenes. Pinch hitter Francisco Zapata then grounded out to short, tying the game. USF went ahead for good in the seventh when Clark singled up the middle, followed by Hernandez' third homer of the season, his third game-winning RBI in the last five games (TheFoghorn).
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