SAN FRANCISCO  – USF junior right-hander James Kannenberg spun a complete-game gem as the Dons' hitters staked him a 5-2 lead after three innings to help guide USF to a three-game sweep of San Diego with an 8-2 win on Sunday afternoon at Benedetti Diamond.
 
Allen Smoot and Harrison Bruce each doubled and drove in two runs apiece, while Ryan Matranga picked up two RBI of his own.
 
Kannenberg (5-3) allowed both runs in the second and third innings, respectively, and scattered seven hits while striking out five and walking three in the first USF complete game since Anthony Shew against Pepperdine on May 2, 2015.
 
"I didn't have anything early," said Kannenberg, who has recorded quality starts in five of his eight starts overall and three of his last four. "I was really struggling to find the zone, especially with the fastball. I've got to give credit to the offense today who really put us ahead early. I finally found it late. I felt the best in the eighth and ninth innings."
 
Kannenberg surrendered a run in the top of the second on Roman Garcia's bloop single to right center. A walk to the next hitter, Daniel Gardner, loaded the bases for San Diego (20-23, 7-11 WCC), but Kannenberg escaped further damage by getting a fly out and a check-swing strikeout.   
 
Brhet Bewley's RBI single in the third helped bring the Toreros within one, but again, Kannenberg wriggled out of the jam with, this time with the help of a 4-6-3 double play.
 
"Kannenberg was solid," said head coach Nino Giarratano. "He was a little erratic with the control but he got outs and we played good defense, so we'll take it and see how we rebound this week in practice."
 
After settling into a groove, Kannenberg retired 16 of the next 19 batters he faced between the third and eighth innings.
 
USF (16-26, 10-8 WCC) benefitted from another quick start offensively. The Dons scored in the first inning in each game of the series and have done so in their past five contests.
 
Smoot plated a run on a sacrifice fly to center in the bottom of the first, while Bruce was the beneficiary of a bloop double that dropped in front of Gardner in centerfield, scoring two runs in the bottom of the second.
 
Another bloop double by Smoot in the bottom of the third drove in a run and Dan James' run-scoring single through a drawn-in infield gave the Dons a 5-2 advantage after the first three frames.
 
"Offensively we've been taking the pressure off everybody by scoring early," said Giarratano, whose team is hitting .313 in their first eight games at their new ballpark and has scored nine runs in the first inning of those games. "Then we got three big runs late in the game to open it up."
 
Those three runs came in the bottom of the eighth as Torero third baseman Jeff Houghtby threw high to home trying to get the force on a bases-loaded groundball off the bat of Aaron Ping, allowing Blake Valley to score. Matranga then hit a sharp ground ball that was bobbled by shortstop Bryson Brigman, whose only play was to third, resulting in a run-scoring fielder's choice that gave the Dons their final 8-2 lead.
 
Kannenberg closed the door in the ninth by facing four hitters – one of which reached on a fielding error by Ping - to secure the Dons' season-best fifth win in a row and their sixth win in their last seven contests.
 
It was the Dons' first sweep of the Toreros at home since 1987. USF comes away with its sixth consecutive win over USD following last season's sweep in San Diego.
 
"It's definitely huge to get a sweep," added Kannenberg. "It's great to get into our home field. It's something that I think has helped get us into our stride."
 
"To sweep right there gives us a chance to get back in the race and be competitive," said Giarratano. "Next weekend is an important weekend for us."
 
San Diego's seven hits were scattered among seven different players.
 
Torero right-hander Gary Cornish (5-3) took the loss with four innings of work where he surrendered five runs on six hits with a pair of walks and three strikeouts.
 
NOTES: OF/IF Matt Sinatro had his team-best hitting streak snapped at 11 games, but did reach base with a pair of walks, giving him 12 games in a row he's been on base… SS Nico Giarratano extended his on-base streak to 16 games, the longest for the Dons this year… with the win, the Dons move into a three-way tie with Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount for fourth place with identical 10-8 conference records. 
 
UP NEXT: The Dons don't play a mid-week game this week, but will head across the bay to start a pivotal three-game series at Saint Mary's on Friday. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. from Louis Guisto Field. The Gaels lost three of four in a nonconference series at Washington this weekend, but come into the week tied for second (with BYU) with a 10-5 mark in WCC action.