SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Returning back to the friendly comforts of Benedetti Diamond, the USF Dons baseball team were dodging rain drops as they battled the Yale Bulldogs in a doubleheader on Saturday morning and afternoon.
After dropping the first game of the doubleheader by a 3-1 final score, the Dons were able to bounce back in the second matchup as they bested the Bulldogs by a 4-3 score thanks to some key hitting late and clutch pitching that held Yale off the scoreboard for most of the game.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
Game One-
- The visiting Bulldogs got off to a fast start on Saturday morning as they were able to plate a pair of runs in the top of the first to take the early lead before Adam Shew was able to settle into his outing.
- Yale's pitching continued to toss zeros throughout the early innings of the game`before the Dons were able to build a rally in the bottom of the fifth as Michael Campagna led off the inning with a single, while TJ Rogers and Ryan Martinez reached on walks to load the bases. Harris Williams III was able to come up with the big hit with two away in the inning as he grounded a base hit to the shortstop who wasn't able to make the play to get USF a little closer trailing 5-2.
- The Bulldogs went on to add one more run in the top of the seventh as they held a 3-1 lead and would go on to take game one by the same score on Saturday morning.
Game Two-
- USF was the first team on the score board in the second half of the doubleheader as Mario DeMera got the party started with a one out single to left field and came around to score on a Christian Stapleton RBI double to the right center gap for the first run of the game. Getting the start in game two, Patrick Keighran delivered with a runner in scoring position as he drove a triple to the left center gap that scored Stapleton and put the Dons up 2-0 after three innings.
- Yale was able to author a response of their own as they plated three runs in the top of the fifth as they worked tough at-bats and got on base via free passes before scoring on a two-run double and an RBI single to lead 3-2 heading into the bottom of the fifth.
- Keighran was able to get the rally started again for the Dons' half of the sixth as he led off the inning with a walk, reached second on a wild pitch, got to third on a successful sacrifice bunt from Lane Oliphant and then scored on a Blake Atkins RBI groundout to knot the game at three apiece.
- Tied in the late innings, Stapleton was ready to get the rally started again as he led off the USF eighth with a double off the right field wall and was pinch run for by Tyler Martinez. After Martinez was able to steal third base, he came around to score the go-ahead run on an Oliphant sacrifice fly to make it 4-3 USF.
- After stranding the tying run on third base in the Yale eighth, Oscar Lepe through a perfect 1, 2, 3 ninth to earn the win as the Dons split the double dip at Benedetti Diamond on Saturday.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
Game One-
- Despite a tough first inning, Shew was able to settle in and pitched well for the Dons in game one as he tossed seven innings allowing three earned runs with eight hits, no walks and six strikeouts against the Bulldogs.
- Williams III had a nice day at the dish in the first game of the doubleheader as he went 1-for-3 with an RBI at the plate as he drove in the Dons' lone tally.
- Keeping the Dons in the game and keeping their deficit close, Weston Lombard threw two scoreless innings in relief as he allowed just one hit and struck out a batter against Yale.
Game Two -
- Stapleton had a nice performance at the plate in the second game of the series as he went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and an RBI against the Bulldogs.
- Pitching some key innings in relief, Ryan Yerby did a good job of keeping the Dons in the game in the middle innings as he threw 3 2/3 innings allowing four hits and striking out seven Yale hitters in the win.
- Providing a spark at the bottom of the order, R. Martinez went 2-for-4 with a stolen base as he played shortstop for the first time this season in game two.
- Closing the door in the late innings, Lepe retired all four batters he faced and struck out two batters to pick up the win on Saturday.
POST GAME WITH THE DONS:
UP NEXT:
USF now looks ahead to the series finale with Yale on Sunday afternoon with first pitch slated for 12:00 p.m. from Benedetti Diamond.
Max Jones will be making his third start of the season after tossing 3 2/3 innings and allowing just one run against Villanova his last time out. Live streaming and live statistics are 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.
MERCHANDISE:
Want to dress like the Dons? Rep USF today by visiting the all-new USF Dons online store at
www.usfdons.com/shop.
SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge our department sponsor – Evergood Sausages - for their continued support of USF Athletics. Interested in sponsoring the Dons? Please contact
Frank Allocco, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of External Relations, at fallocco@usfca.edu or at (415) 422-4561.
