Barron Shines as Dons Win Series Opener Over Pepperdine

Friday, April 14

San Francisco, Calif.

1:00 p.m.

University of San Francisco

14-15, 0

Pepperdine

11-20, 0

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Pepperdine	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	2	1
San Francisco	0	0	0	3	1	0	1	0	X	5	8	1

Photo by: Christina Leung

4/14/2023 4:17:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Returning to their home diamond for the first time in two and a half weeks, the USF Dons baseball team (14-15, 5-8) emerged victorious in their series opener with the Pepperdine Waves (11-20, 4-9) by a 5-1 final score on Friday afternoon.

USF starting pitcher Jesse Barron set the tone for the Dons on Friday as he tossed 6 1/3 innings of one run ball to stifle the Waves' hitters on Friday. Utility player Tyler Martinez came through with the big hit for USF as he hit a bases clearing double in the bottom of the fourth providing the Dons with enough runs to take the series opener.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

The first three and half innings of play consisted of scoreless baseball with each starting pitcher on top of their games trading zeroes under the San Francisco sun.
USF was able to break through in the bottom of the fourth as Michael Campagna led off the inning with a walk and reached third base on a double from Christian Stapleton one batter later. After Patrick Keighran was hit by a pitch with two out, T. Martinez came through with a clutch bases clearing double down the left field line that put the Dons ahead 3-0 heading into the fifth inning.
The Dons were not done tacking on runs as they built a two-out rally in the bottom of the fifth with Campagna working a walk and Stapleton reaching base on an error. Will Asby came through in the clutch with a double down the right field line to plate the USF catcher and make it a 4-0 USF lead.
Barron continued his strong outing by tossing 6 1/3 scoreless innings before being tagged for a solo home run from the Waves to get back within three runs at 4-1.
USF would go on to add another run to their total in the bottom of the seventh as DeMera was hit by a pitch to begin the inning and came around to score on an RBI groundout from Campagna to make it 5-1 Dons.
Weston Lombard came in for USF to relieve Barron as he retired nine of the ten hitters he faced with a groundout to the second baseman Blake Atkins securing the Dons' series opening victory by a 5-1 final score.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

Barron had another stellar outing making his first Friday start of the year as he tossed 6 1/3 innings of one run ball only allowing a pair of hits, one walk and striking out seven Waves hitters to pick up the victory.
DeMera had another great game at the top of the order as he reached base three times going 2-for-4 with a run scored playing shortstop against Pepperdine.
T. Martinez came through with a huge three-run double as he served as the Dons' designated hitter as he went 1-for-4 with three RBI on Friday afternoon.
Continuing to boost his team-leading on-base percentage, Campagna worked a pair of walks and scored twice as he served as the team's catcher against the Waves.
Picking up his third save of the season, Lombard threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings allowing just one hit and striking out three Pepperdine hitters in the win.

POST GAME WITH THE DONS:

To view the highlights from today's 5-1 series opening win over Pepperdine, please click here.
To view our post game press conference with USF head baseball coach Rob DiToma, please click here.
To view our post game press conference with Michael Campagna and Tyler Martinez, please click here.

UP NEXT:
The Dons return home tomorrow afternoon for the second game of the weekend series against Pepperdine at 1:00 p.m. with Adam Shew schedule to toe the rubber for USF. Live streaming and live statistics for the contest 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 – Nike - 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.