The Dons could do nothing right following the disastrous fifth, but added four runs in the final two stanzas. In the eighth, Pete Santora and Tom Lounibos singled, preceding a double by Frank Reyes replacing Mike Sears who injured his shoulder while attempting a diving catch in left-centerfield. In the final inning, Jim Ward's double coupled with a Pioneer error and a Santora single added the remaining Don runs.
The inability of the USF bats to produce with men on base, has been somewhat of a deterrent to the final outcomes as well. The Dons have produced their share of long balls, most recently by Bob Bachtold, Dennis Carmassi, and Mike Sears. But their left-on base totals are approaching the uncomfortable stage, as is their base-hit total. Saturday's doubleheader did not find things much better. The first game turned into a long one with nothing going right for Dons despite playing on their home weeds.
USF jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom half of the second stanza when three doubles by Pete Santora, Jerry Bloodsaw, and Mike Sears were combined with walks to Lindsay Yoshimura and Don Doughty, and a single by Tom Lounibus. Chico State retaliated with their two runs in the top of the fourth, but the Dons answered with five of their own a few minutes later. In that frame, lead off hitter Mitch Kim walked. Sears, Fred Reid, and Yoshimura singled in sequence, Santora walked and Bloodsaw collected his second and third runs batted in with a single. With the score 9-2, Sears added his third hit of the afternoon, this time a triple, and Yoshimura again delivered, this time with a single for the tenth USF score. The final three scores came in the sixth. Bob Bachtold opened with a single. Catcher Don Doughty doubled him home. After Tom Lounibus and Mike Sears walked, Fred Reid pushed across two more runs, his second and third RBI's, with a double. It was a noteworthy performance for freshman catcher Pat Cremin however as he drove in one run with a sacrifice fly and singled later in the contest (TheFoghorn).
