NORTHRIDGE, Calif. — Host CSUN grabbed an early lead Friday and capitalized on USF mistakes to build on it, a the Matadors earned an 8-0 shutout win over the University of San Francisco baseball team on Opening Day 2020 at Matador Field.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• CSUN's Blake Doremus homered in the first inning on the first pitch he saw of the 2020 season, sending the ball over the right-field fence to give the Matadors (1-0) a 2-0 lead. San Francisco starter Riley Ornido (0-1) settled down after that, only allowing one more hit and finishing with four strikeouts in four innings.
   
• But the Dons (0-1) struggled to give Ornido any run support in the season's first contest. USF went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position and 0 for 11 overall with runners on base. Tyler Villaroman led off the game with a single, but the Dons only had four hits after that for the rest of the game – all singles.
   
• San Francisco loaded the bases in the eighth inning and rolled the lineup over back to the top, but two strikeouts and a flyout in the inning ended any run-scoring opportunities. Two more Dons got on base in the ninth with only one out, but were stranded after two more strikeouts that ended the game.

QUOTES FROM COACH GIARRATANO

• "(It was) a lot closer game than the score dictates. We were unable to score today. We couldn't put the ball in play with some runners in scoring position, couldn't catch some breaks today."
• "Our inability to put the ball in play that cost us an opportunity to keep it close. We pitched well in spots, had good at-bats in some spots, and played some good defense in spots."
• "There's plenty of series left. We've got to find some guys offensively in the lineup that are going to provide something for us to provide runs. We're gonna keep plugging at it. You have a veteran team, so you don't expect them to be nervous."
• "I thought Ornido pitched pretty good, just struggled to keep his pitch limit down so he could get into the sixth."

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 2: Two USF errors led to two unearned runs scored by CSUN. In the 2019 season finale series versus CSUN, the Dons also committed two errors in the series opener, also dropping that game in extra innings.
• 3: Three Dons made their USF debuts Friday – Darius Foster drew a pinch-hit walk in the eighth, Michael Benz entered in relief in the fifth, and Jake Pizzo entered to throw in the seventh.
• 15: San Francisco struck out 15 times Friday, its most strikeouts in a game since March 10 of last season versus UC Riverside. En route to a 30-win campaign, the Dons started 2019 with three straight games of 15 or more strikeouts.

COMING UP

• Senior lefty Grant Young takes the mound for the Dons in game two at 1 p.m. Saturday. Redshirt senior Landen Bourassa returns from a season-ending injury a year ago for his first appearance with the start on Sunday, also at 1 p.m. Fans can find all live coverage links on USFDons.com.