Paul Deffner was 6' 3", 185 lbs., and batted and threw left. He was a native of San Leandro, CA , and attended San Leandro High School and Laney CC.  His high school stats were: 8-2, 2.10 ERA, 59 Inn, 65 K's. In 1997 at USF, he appeared in 14 games, finishing 3-1 with a 4.50 ERA.
Junior Paul Deffner (above) provided quality innings out of the bullpen in two games against Pepperdine. In the series opener, Deffner relieved starter Sean Buller, with two runners on in the seventh inning and got two quick outs. More impressively, Deffner relieved starter Chris Gossert on Sunday with the Dons trailing 3-2 in the sixth inning and with two Pepperdine runners on base; Deffner recorded a strikeout and a flyout without allowing either base runner to score and pitched a scoreless 3 2/3 innings to keep the Dons in the game.
In the nightcap, right fielder Jeff Pritchard came through with his second straight game-winning RBI when the Dons scored four runs in the sixth inning after trailing 5-2. The key to USF's victory, however, was relief pitcher Paul Detine who took over for starter Jeft Bowman and shut out the Broncos in the final 4 2/ 3 innings. Left fielder Pat Walsh also contributed for the Dons, going 3 for 4 with two runs in the 6-5 win.
"Our bats weren't too alive," said Walsh. "Deffner came up big. What he did was a morale booster for us. Santa Clara's pitching staff was really tough and we needed Deffner to come in and pick up the slack. Now that the pitching staff has been revitalized with the return of key starter Chris Thogersen and relievers Paul Deffner and Jason Zachos, USF will once again be challenging for the top spot in the WCC. "Any time you add three pitchers like that, you're going to have a new outlook," said Bozied. "When those guys came back we had a solid rotation again. Now we aren't just putting anyone on the mound or pitching whoever feels good on that day." (TheFoghorn)."
