SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Opening conference play on a beautiful, sunny day in the City by the Bay, the USF Dons baseball team (11-9, 0-1) dropped a close 3-2 ballgame to the Santa Clara Broncos (10-6, 1-0) on Friday afternoon at Benedetti Diamond.
Starting pitcher
Owen Stevenson gutted through five innings as he allowed three runs and struck out six Bronco hitters to begin the three game set. Infielder
Luke Keaschall reached base all four times he came to the plate with a pair of hits and hit by pitches as well to begin the series.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Santa Clara got off to a quick start by scoring a run in the top of the first inning to take the early 1-0 lead.
- The Broncos added additional runs in the third and fourth innings as they held a 3-0 lead through the middle innings.
- USF scored their first run on a Luke Keaschall RBI single up the middle to score Darius Foster who kick started the rally with a two-out double.
- The Dons were able to scratch across their final run of the game in the sixth as Jordan Vujovich lined a base hit into center field that scored Harris Williams III.
- Both bullpens held the oppositon scoreless to finish off the game as the Broncos came away with the 3-2 win.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
- Keaschall was the energizer bunny at the top of the order as he went 2-for-2 with two hit by pitches and an RBI against Santa Clara.
- Left-hander Lance Santerre saved the bullpen by throwing the final four innings and allowing just one base runner on a walk and struck out four Bronco hitters in the finest outing of his season to date.
- Vujovich drove in the second run of the game for USF as he worked a full count at-bat against a tough left-hander and fought off a base hit to score Williams III.
UP NEXT:
The Dons now return home for game two of the weekend at Benedetti Diamond with LHP
Weston Lombard (2-1, 2.61 ERA) taking the hill for a 2:00 p.m. first pitch. Live streaming and live statistics will be available via the
team's schedule page.
FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on the USF baseball program, be sure to follow @SFDonsBaseball on Twitter, @USFDonsBaseball on Instagram and @University.of.San.Francisco.Baseball on Facebook.