SAN FRANCISCO — One walk and one swing was all the difference in Friday's West Coast Conference series-opening game between Loyola Marymount and the host San Francisco baseball team, as the Lions staved off late rally after late rally by the Dons to win game one, 2-1, at Benedetti Diamond.


 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• As it has all season long, San Francisco (17-12, 6-4 WCC) began putting together its comeback efforts in the late innings down 2-0. The Dons loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh with only one out – their first real scoring chance since the second inning – but could not push a run across, as an inning-ending double play stopped the threat.
   
• Tyler Villaroman put USF on the board for the first time in the bottom of the eighth with his first career home run – a solo shot over the left field wall to cut USF's deficit in half at 2-1. The Dons continued to rally with two walks, getting the tying run into scoring position and the go-ahead run at first, but a strikeout by LMU relief pitcher Nick Frasso ended the threat there.
   
• The Dons still put up one more rallying try in the bottom of the ninth. Chase Hodkinson singled to the opposite field to lead off the inning, bringing the winning run to the plate. An attempted sacrifice bunt hung up in the air just long enough to freeze the Dons' lead runner at first, allowing LMU to get the out at second. And two swinging strikeouts were the final blow to the Dons' rallying efforts.
   
• San Francisco starter Riley Ornido (5-3) managed to escape trouble for most of the day. He worked around two different bases-loaded jams with one out in both the third and the fifth innings, and left another runner on third base in the sixth. The third was where he saw his only blemish. Two groundball singles up the middle followed by back-to-back walks on nine total pitches brought in the game's first run and handed Loyola Marymount (19-10, 6-4 WCC) a 1-0 lead.
   
• Loyola Marymount starter Codie Paiva (4-2) made that one-run lead stand strong, as he retired 18 of 21 batters faced through his first six innings, including a stretch of 11 straight from the second through the fifth. He was removed in the seventh when he gave up three consecutive singles, but CJ Fernandezees induced the inning-ending double play to preserve his shutout performance.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 1: Villaroman's solo home run in the bottom of the eighth was the first of his career. It came in his 132nd game as a Don.
• 14: LMU left 14 men on base Friday. That was a season-high for any USF opponent this season, topping the 13 left on base by San Diego on March 24. They left the bases loaded three times and stranded eight runners in scoring position.

COMING UP

• Game two of the series is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, with San Francisco lefty Scott Parker slated to take on LMU righty Josh Agnew. Fans can purchase tickets and find all live coverage links on USFDons.com.