Box Score
TUCSON, Ariz. – The University of San Francisco (4-6) Diamond Dons gave defending national champion Arizona (9-2) all they could handle Friday night, falling 6-4 to the No. 11 Wildcats at Hi Corbett Field.
The Dons equaled their season total with a pair of home runs off the bats of freshman
Ryan Matranga and sophomore
Bradley Zimmer early in the game. The long balls gave USF a 4-3 lead in the middle of the fourth, but the Dons failed to score again and Arizona put three more runs on the board to win the game.
Matranga's home run with one out in the third was the first of the catcher's college career, and pulled USF to 2-1. Zimmer, off to a quiet start, homered as part of a three-run fourth inning that gave USF their final lead of the night. Zimmer went 3-for-4 on the day and also stole his first base of the season.
The Dons had the tying run at the plate in the ninth after centerfielder
Justin Maffei reached base with one out, but
Jason Mahood and
Mitchell Rowan struck out to end the game.
“It was a good game tonight,” said USF Head Coach
Nino Giarratano. “We played well in spots and had some big hits. I was really excited to see the production from
Bradley Zimmer tonight. Arizona scored five runs with two-out situations and held the lead for four innings, that's why they're defending national champions. We'll go out there tomorrow and continue to build on tonight's game.”
The series resumes tomorrow at 1 p.m.
Alex Balog (1-0, 0.64 ERA) will start for USF against Arizona's James Farris (2-0, 2.93).
Inside the Numbers
Eight of the Dons nine starters recorded at least one base hit.
Line of the Game
Bradley Zimmer – 3-4, home run, RBI, SB
