SANTA CLARA, Calif.—Anthony Shew controlled the game and the Dons' offense came alive early and late as they carried that momentum to the 9-1 West Coast Conference victory over Santa Clara on Thursday night.
 
"Almost all the way through the lineup everyone was able to put together good at bats and give us an opportunity to win. That's what we need," San Francisco head coach Nino Giarratano said. "We finally relaxed and busted through to score the runner from third base in the eighth. I kind of knew that was going to settle us in."
 
With the Dons already on top 3-1 in the eighth, USF had a chance to break the game wide open. With runners at the corners and one down, Dominic Miroglio came up and hit a grounder just by the Santa Clara shortstop for an RBI single to give the Dons a three-run lead.
 
After a walk that loaded the bases, Blake Valley hit a one-hopper hard to short and it hit off the fielder's chest and kicked away to allow another run to score and leave the bases loaded. The Dons were unable to add on more but went to the bottom of the inning with a 5-1 lead.
 
Shew (4-3) handled the rest as no base runner got past second base after the second and he allowed one run on six hits in eight innings. It is his sixth outing of at least eight innings this season.
 
In the ninth, the Dons pulled away and they got it started with an RBI single from Nico Giarratano, who went 2-for-5 on the night, to score Connor Hofmann. With two on and two down, Kyle Norman picked up his first career hit with a single to right center that brought home one and put USF up 7-1.
Valley put on the finishing touches and made it 9-1 with a single to right that scored Norman and Derek Atkinson.
 
"What it means to win on Friday, it gives us time to take a deep breath and you got to win one of two to win the series," Giarratano said.
 
The Dons and Broncos will be back in action on Friday at 6 p.m. Christian Cecilio, who has a 0.77 ERA over his last four starts, will take on fellow left hander Kevin George.
 
With Nico Giarratano standing on second with one out, Atkinson ripped the 0-1 pitch into the right center gap to plate the run and give the Dons an early 1-0 lead. Miroglio was next and he followed up with a double of his own to right center to bring home Atkinson and give USF a two-run cushion.
 
Atkinson reached base four times and was a home run shy of the cycle by going 3-for-4 with a triple, double, and an RBI.
 
"I was happy for him," Giarratano said of Atkinson. "He finally put a couple of good swings together. He got a break there [in the sixth] in centerfield, when the Santa Clara centerfielder made a great play but it went off his glove, for the triple. His first hit in the right centerfield gap was smoked."
 
The 2-3-4-5 hitters (Giarratano-Hendriks-Atkinson-Miroglio) went a combined 9-for-19 with five RBI.
 
"Three guys that we really need to get started kind of got started tonight," said Giarratano of his 3-4-5 hitters. "If we can get those guys going, we've got a chance to score enough runs."
 
Santa Clara got one back in the bottom of the second when, with two runners on, it got a two-out single to left and cut the Dons lead to one. Shew battled back and, with runners at second and third and two down, fielded a drag bunt cleanly to end the inning.
 
Miroglio was back at it in the fourth when he crushed a 2-2 pitch over the left centerfield wall for a solo shot and gave USF a 3-1 lead.
 
The sophomore catcher went 3-for-5 with three RBI.
 
The Broncos tried to mount a two-out rally in the fifth and got a two-out single from Jose Vizcaino, Jr. but he was erased when he was caught trying to steal second by Miroglio. It was the second caught stealing of the game.
 
The Dons had another chance to add on in the sixth after Atkinson tripled off the glove of the centerfielder and gave them a runner at third with one down for Miroglio. With the infield pulled in, Miroglio hit a screaming one-hopper that was knocked down by a diving Vizcaino and the Santa Clara shortstop held the runner at third and got the out. Ross Puskarich was next and he grounded out to end the inning.