Box Score Box Score
SAN FRANCISCO – USF baseball's 2013 campaign didn't open with the win Friday at Benedetti Diamond, but there were some positive signs in the Dons 5-3 loss at the hands of Cal Poly.
The game remained scoreless into the fifth, with senior starting pitcher
Adam Cimber keeping the Mustangs off balance and benefitting from strong defensive play behind him, including a
Justin Maffei sliding catch of a sinking liner in the first.
Cimber got the first two hitters in the fifth on fly balls and gave up an infield single before a tough fly ball down the right-field line bounced off
Bradley Zimmer's glove for a three-base error. Cal Poly put together three straight singles off the tiring Cimber before Chris Hoo lined a ball over Maffei's head in center, clearing the bases. Maffei made a strong throw to nail Hoo at the plate after a single up the middle by the next batter, shortstop Peter Van Gansen, to get the Dons out of the inning.
“Obviously I'm disappointed in the loss and how we lost the game, dropped a ball we could have caught and gave up a two-out hit,” said USF Head Coach
Nino Giarratano. “I made a really bad decision to leave
Adam Cimber in the game when he was tired and he left a fastball up to Hoo. We needed to get to the bullpen there, and we just didn't make a good decision and that was the game.”
The five-run fifth was the only offense from the Mustangs, and the Dons battled back, scoring a pair in the bottom of the sixth on RBI singles by
Jason Mahood and Zachary Turner.
Haden Hinkle threw four shutout innings for the Dons to keep them in the game and USF cut the lead to two with an eighth inning RBI single by
Bradley Zimmer. That was as close as the Dons would get, as Reid Reilly shut the door for his first save of the season.
“I was pretty happy with the way we played defense, the way we pitched other than the tired fastball that got it to 5-0,” Giarratano said. “We struck out 14 times and misplayed a ball and lost by two runs, so we're pretty close. It's a learning experience and hopefully we come back tomorrow and play better.”
The series resumes tomorrow as the Dons
Alex Balog faces Cal Poly's Matt Imhof. First pitch is at 1 p.m. with tickets available at the Benedetti Diamond gate.
Inside the Numbers
Third baseman
Bob Cruikshank collected the first hit of the season for the Dons with a second inning double.
Second baseman
Jason Mahood drove in the first run of the season for USF with a run-scoring single in the sixth.
Line of the Game
Second baseman
Jason Mahood – 2-4, 2 runs, 1 RBI
Pitcher
Haden Hinkle – 4.0 innings, 3 hits, 0 runs, 4 strikeouts
