SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Closing out a Hilltop homestand, the University of San Francisco men's baseball team (12-5) earned a 7-6, 11-inning victory over San Jose State (6-11) to complete an undefeated five-game stretch at Benedetti Diamond.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- After a three-up, three-down first inning for both squads, San Jose State drew first blood in the top of the second with a home run from Dalton Bowling to put the Spartans up 1-0.
- In the top of the third, the Spartans extended their lead with a three-run homer by Sebastian Orduno to take a commanding 4-0 advantage.
- Working their way back into the ballgame, Tyvon Moore hit a triple to right-center in the bottom of the third inning to give the Dons their first hit of the afternoon. Kody Watanabe followed with a single that brought Moore home, cutting the deficit to 4-1. A Logan Leax triple to center field brought Watanabe home, cutting the deficit down just two runs, 4-2.
- No score came in the following three innings, but in the bottom of the seventh, the green and gold took control of the game. With two outs and Logan Azem on first, Matty Fung homered into right field to tie the game at four.
- Shortly after, with Moore on first off a walk, Watanabe singled into left field, and with San Jose State failing to throw Moore out at third base, Watanabe advanced to second, giving the Dons two players in scoring position.
- Putting San Francisco in front, Zack Ramppen hit a single into left that brought Moore and Watanabe home, giving the Dons a 6-4 lead, with four runs coming in the bottom of the seventh.
- The Spartans quickly worked to tie the game as Nathan Cadena hit a single into left that brought two runners home for SJSU, tying the ballgame at six in the bottom of the eighth.
- Neither team was able to break the tie in the ninth inning, sending the Dons to extra innings for the first time this season.
- With the score remaining tied at six through the top of the 11th inning, reigning WCC Player of the Week TJ Rogers sent one flying over the left field fence for a walk-off home run for the Dons, extending USF's win streak to five straight games with a 7-6 victory.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
- Continuing his dominance at the plate, Watanabe totaled three hits for a third straight game, as he remains the leader for the Dons this season in total hits.
- With a game-tying home run today, Fung hit his first Division I homer this afternoon, becoming the fourth Don this season to record a long ball.
- Following a two-home run game last time out, Rogers recorded a home run for a second straight game.
- Max Jones notched his second win of the season, recording two strikeouts and allowing just one hit in his two innings on the mound.
POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:
UP NEXT:
San Francisco will head to Omaha for a three-game road series against Creighton, with the series starting on Friday, Mar. 15.
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? Get your official San Francisco Dons gear from the University of San Francisco bookstore today!
Click here to purchase.
SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our sponsor –
Planet Orange - 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.
