SAN FRANCISCO — It has been a slow climb this season back to full strength for University of San Francisco baseball second-year freshman
Eric Reyzelman.
Sunday, he may have shown everyone he's finally there.
Reyzelman struck out a career-high 11 against Sacramento State and pitched a season-long five innings as the Hornets clinched a non-conference series victory with a 4-0 win at Benedetti Diamond.
Reyzelman only had two outings in 2021 longer than two innings before Sunday. Working back from Tommy John surgery over the offseason had given him some setbacks from his brief but brilliant freshman season in 2020. He posted a near-3-to-1 strikeouts-to-walks ratio (17-6), had a 2-1 record, and had thrown a quality start in a big spotlight on the road at last year's Big West Conference favorite and perennial power Cal State Fullerton as his last hurrah of 2020, striking out eight against only one walk in six innings.
He entered Sunday with 22 walks against 20 strikeouts and an ERA north of 7.50 in 13 appearances this season, still trying to find that same 2020 mojo that earned him a weekend starting role.
He found it Sunday. Reyzelman struck out multiple batters in four of his five innings, and struck out six of the last seven batters he faced through the fourth and fifth innings. He issued two two-out walks in the first, one of which would come home to score on a Dawsen Bacho RBI single, and he gave up a solo home run to Sacramento State cleanup batter Matt Smith in the third, but outside of that, he was near flawless.
Reyzelman is the second Dons pitcher this season to record double-digit strikeouts in a game, following
Landen Bourassa's school-record-tying performance of 16 Ks on April 23 versus Portland.
Opposite of Reyzelman, Sacramento State starter Eli Saul, who entered Sunday's contest with a 10.90 ERA and 1-3 record, shut down the Dons' offense, which had scored 14 runs with five homers in Saturday's doubleheader and was averaging 5.9 runs a game. Saul only allowed one runner past second base through the first six innings and he stranded runners on third in both the seventh and eighth, keeping the shutout intact. Sunday was the first time San Francisco had been shut out since falling 2-0 at CSU Bakersfield on Feb. 23, 2020.
The Dons next travel to San Jose State on Tuesday for a non-conference midweek matchup, then head north to Spokane, Wash., for their final West Coast Conference series of the year against first-place and nationally ranked Gonzaga. Fans can find all live coverage links on USFDons.com.
