SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Beginning the final week of the regular season with their final non-conference game on the schedule, the USF Dons baseball team (17-27, 7-17) picked up a 5-3 victory on their home diamond over the UC Davis Aggies (17-31, 7-17) on Tuesday afternoon.
Led by tremendous starting pitching from
Jesse Barron's three scoreless innings and home runs from
Harris Williams III and
Christian Stapleton, the Dons picked up a nice home victory to guarantee themselves no worse than a .500 record at Benedetti Diamond this season.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- After each team exchanged scoreless frames through two and a half innings, the Dons were able to break through in the bottom of the third with the first two runs of the game. Ryan Martinez led off the inning with a walk, and then came around to score on Harris Williams III's two-run home run to right center that put the home team ahead.
- The Aggies were able to answer back in the top of the fourth with a run of their own to cut the lead down to 2-1.
- Wasting little time to get the run back, Christian Stapleton came through with a long solo home run to right center field that put the Dons back ahead by a pair leading 3-1.
- UC Davis would then add two more runs to tie the game with a tally in the fifth before tying the game in the top of the seventh inning at 3-apiece.
- Tied late in the game, Mattie Thomas led off the USF seventh with an opposite field single to left and reached second on a sacrifice bunt from Blake Atkins. Ryan Martinez then came through with an RBI single up the middle to score Thomas and put the Dons ahead. Harris Williams III would add a tack on run with a single to left that brought home Tyler Martinez.
- Weston Lombard would shut the door on the Aggies with scoreless frames in the eighth and ninth as he earned his third victory of the season by a 5-3 final score.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
- Setting the tone at the top of the Dons' batting order, Williams III went 3-for-4 with his ninth home run of the season as he drove in three runs on Tuesday afternoon.
- Making another start and twirling a gem, Barron retired all nine UC Davis hitters he faced with three scoreless innings and four strikeouts against the Aggies.
- Matching Harris again for the team lead in home runs, Stapleton left the yard for the ninth time in 2023 as he went 1-for-3 against UC Davis.
- R. Martinez had a nice afternoon serving as the team's shortstop as he went 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored on Tuesday.
- Slamming the door with a multi-inning relief appearance, Lombard pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings while striking out a trio of Aggie hitters.
POST GAME WITH THE DONS:
UP NEXT:
The Dons now look ahead to their final weekend series of the year as they will welcome the Portland Pilots (26-20, 15-9) to the Hilltop beginning on Thursday, May 18 with all three games scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. first pitch. 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 –
Toyota - 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.
