THE RUNDOWN
FRESNO, Calif. – The University of San Francisco's baseball finished its road trip to Southern California with a 3-2 loss to the Fresno State Bulldogs.
 
The Dons got on the board early, again, taking an early 1-0 lead through a sac fly from Ross Puskarich. Riley Helland got the USF offense started, singling to center field. Michael Perri moved Helland to third when he doubled down the right field line, where he was driven in by Puskarich in the next at-bat.
 
Fresno State leveled the score in the second inning through a sac fly of their own. The Dons took the lead back in the next half inning, when Jonathan Allen reached on an error with one out. The junior stole second base before being driven in by Perri when the senior singled to left field.
 
The Bulldogs added a run in the fifth inning to bring the two teams level, again, through a sacrifice fly. Following a scoreless inning for both teams, the Bulldogs would take the lead in the seventh inning on a two-out single, which made it 3-2, Fresno State.
 
USF would get a couple runners on the final two frames, but the Bulldogs pitching staff kept the Dons' bats at bay to go home with the win. The Dons are now 6-5 on the season following this loss to Fresno State.
 
COACHES QUOTES
Head coach Nino Giarratano
 
On the team's performance:
"We just didn't play well enough tonight. Defensively we gave too much away to get them those three runs, and we allowed a few untimely walks to give them base runners. Offensively we struck out too much. A 3-2 to loss on the road following a long weekend is tough, but I thought the kids played hard, and if we sure up those mistakes I think we'll be fine."
 
On the pitching staff's performance:
"We made some good pitches, but we walked too many guys. Grant Young came in and gave us a great inning, (Brendan) Jenkins came in and made a good pitch to get a groundball that we, unfortunately, threw away. Benji (Post) struggled with his command tonight, but he hadn't thrown in a while. Overall, I think we pitched really well. If we play better defense then they don't score."
 
On heading back to San Francisco for home stand:
"We're starting to build the team. We need to build up our offense, so we will go to work on that. We have to sure up some things defensively too. The team played hard this weekend, but we need to get back home and play well Thursday against Xavier to get off to the right start. Then we'll go from there.
 
GAME STATS

• Tonight's game saw USF put out six different pitchers, the most pitchers the Dons have had in a single game this season.
• Perri put together an impressive night at the plate, going three-for-four with a double and a RBI.
• Jonathan Allen crossed the plate for the 10th time this season, which has him as the team leader.
• Puskarich's RBI is his fourth of the season. 

NEXT UP
The Dons return home for a four-game series against Xavier beginning on Thursday at 2 p.m.