SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Playing under a sunny sky on Saturday afternoon, the University of San Francisco baseball team (9-10, 0-5 WCC) fell victim to a six-run third inning in game two of their weekend series as Loyola Marymount (11-9, 4-1 WCC) defeated the Dons, 13-4, at Benedetti Diamond.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Through the first two innings of play, neither team could get the bats going as the first runs of the afternoon did not come across until the top of the third. In the inning, LMU plated six runs on seven hits to jump out to an early 6-0 lead.
• Getting a run back shortly thereafter, Blake Atkins crushed his first career home run in the home half of the third to get the Dons on the board, 6-1.
• Coming on in relief to begin the fourth, Max Jones blanked the Lions in the top of the inning before USF added two more runs in the bottom half, which included an RBI single from Mario DeMera followed by an RBI double by Michael Campagna as the Dons inched closer, 6-3.
• After another scoreless inning in the fifth, LMU added to their advantage in the sixth with two runs on three hits in their turn at the dish to extend their lead to 8-3.
• Moving into the seventh, Matt McConnell toed the rubber for the green and gold and delivered another zero, but the Lions then tacked on another insurance run in the eighth on an RBI double from Connor Blough to make the score 9-3 in favor of LMU.
• One inning later, the Lions pushed across four runs on three hits in the top of the ninth to extend their lead to double digits, 13-3.
• Looking for some late magic, Darius Foster came off the bench as a pinch hitter in the home half of the ninth as he blasted his first big fly of the year to begin USF's final opportunity at the plate. Although Will Asby would follow Foster by lacing a double into the right center field gap, the Dons could not capitalize on their momentum in the final frame as the Lions hung on to take game two, 13-4.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• For Atkins, his long ball in the third marked the first of his collegiate career as he came to the Hilltop this past offseason after four years across the bay at Cal.
• Finishing 1-for-3 with one run scored and one RBI, DeMera has now reached base safely in nine straight games.
• With his RBI double in the fourth, Campagna pushed his hitting streak to six games. 

POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:

• To view the full highlights of today's contest, please click here.
• To view the full postgame interview with head coach Rob DiToma, please click here.

UP NEXT:
Game three of the weekend series between the Dons and the Lions is set for 12:00 pm tomorrow, Sunday, Mar. 26. Live streaming and live statistics for the series finale 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 – Coca-Cola - 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.