PROVO, Utah — Knowing full well the importance of its West Coast Conference season finale on Saturday, the University of San Francisco baseball team staked itself to two different multi-run leads in the early innings.
 
But first place and host BYU answered with big rallies of its own each time, scoring 11 runs with two outs in the second and third innings en route to a 17-9 series-clinching victory at Miller Park.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• San Francisco (28-24, 15-12 WCC) will be watching the scoreboard next weekend while it plays a non-conference series versus CSUN at home and the rest of the WCC sorts out the final weekend of the regular season. The top-four teams at season's end qualify for the 2019 WCC Championship Tournament in Stockton, Calif., and a chance to play for the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. For that – USF knew a win Saturday would solidify its chances of staying among the WCC's top four and qualifying for the tournament.
   
• Both teams loaded the bases in the first inning but didn't score. It was the Dons who struck first in the second, getting four consecutive singles to bring in the game's first run and load the bases. Riley Helland made it a 3-0 game with a two-run double, and Jonathan Allen tallied an RBI with a sacrifice fly to put USF ahead 4-0.
   
• USF closer Joey Steele – making his first start since Feb. 25, 2018, struck out the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the second and was looking for a shutdown inning to keep the Dons ahead. Instead, a double and two free passes (hit-by-pitch, four-pitch walk) loaded the bases for BYU's top hitter Brock Hale. Steele got ahead of Hale 1-2 and was a strike away from keeping the Cougars off the board, but Hale tied the game with one swing, hitting his second grand slam of the series over the left-center field wall to make it 4-4. The rally continued with back-to-back doubles after Hale's slam to give BYU a 5-4 lead – all with two outs.
   
• The third inning was a near mirror's image of the second. Five of the first six San Francisco batters reached base, and the Dons scored four runs again to regain the lead at 8-5. The inning's biggest hit came off of Jack Winkler's bat, who cleared the bases with a three-run double to put the Dons ahead.
   
• And yet again, just like the second, back came BYU with another big two-out rally in the bottom half of the third to answer USF. With two outs and only a runner on second, back-to-back walks loaded the bases, paving the way for Cluff to clear them with his own three-run double, tying the game again. Another free pass via a hit-by-pitch to Ryan Sepede put two on, and that's when McIntyre hit a three-run home run to put the Cougars up for good at 11-8.
   
• San Francisco's biggest chance to get back in the game came in the seventh when an RBI double from RJ Cordeiro brought it back to a three-run game at 12-9. The Dons loaded the bases and brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the form of Allen – the conference leader in home runs and RBIs. Allen worked a full count, but swung and missed on the payoff pitch to end the rally and leave the bases loaded.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 6: The Dons hit six doubles Saturday, tying their season high from April 22 at UC Davis. Riley Helland had two and four other Dons had two-baggers as well. Three of the Dons' doubles (Helland, Winkler and Cordeiro) brought in runs.
• 8: With an eighth-inning double – the Dons' fifth of the game as a team – Robert Emery extended his hitting streak to eight games. He is batting .464 with four doubles, a home run, seven runs scored and five RBIs during his streak.
• 11: San Francisco left 11 runners on base Saturday, as did BYU. Nine of the 11 USF runners left on base were in scoring position, including leaving the bases loaded twice.

COMING UP

• San Francisco will end its regular season with four non-conference games next week, starting with a single game at UC Davis on Tuesday. The Dons then return home for their last home series of the year, hosting CSUN for a three-game set starting Friday.
   
• Fans can purchase tickets and find all live coverage links on USFDons.com.