Diamond Dons Win on Walk-Off Hit in 10th Inning

Sunday, March 24

ShaneCo Backpack Giveaway; Youth Free

1:00 p.m.

University of San Francisco

11-12, 0

University of Portland

8-15, 0

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Portland	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	1
San Francisco	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	11	1

Photo by: Cole Stipovich

3/24/2013 4:30:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

SAN FRANCISCO – The University of San Francisco Diamond Dons (11-12) won their first series of the season Sunday, beating Portland 2-1 in 10 innings at Benedetti Diamond in the rubber game of the series.

Dons starter Christian Cecilio took a no-hitter into the fifth inning for the second time in three starts. The sophomore pitched into the sixth before giving way to senior Haden Hinkle, who finished the game to improve his record to 5-0 on the season.

The top of the lineup was productive for USF, with leadoff hitter Justin Maffei going 3-for-5 and No. 2-hitter Jason Mahood having a 2-for-3 day. Mahood drove in his fourth run of the series in the third to give the Dons an early 1-0 lead.

Portland tied the game in the fifth, and the Dons wasted multiple opportunities with runners on as the game advanced into extra innings.

In the 10^th inning, Bradley Zimmer was hit by a pitch with one out and stole second. Zimmer was thrown out at third trying to advance on a Bob Cruikshank ground ball, and when Brendan Hendriks doubled to right field, it appeared that the Dons may have let another scoring opportunity slip away. However, shortstop Josh Miller chopped a slow ground ball to the third baseman who couldn't handle the bare-hand chance, and Cruikshank scored the winning run.

“We left runners on base in almost every inning,” said USF Head Coach Nino Giarratano. “It was tough for us to score runs today. Haden was superb, and I thought Christian was great today too. Pitching wise we did as well as we could do this weekend, but offensively we need to score more than two runs a game.”

The Dons host Cal Tuesday at Benedetti Diamond. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30.

Inside the Numbers

Jason Mahood extended his hitting streak to six games. The senior is 12-for-24 over that span with six runs, nine RBI and five doubles.

Line of the Game

Haden Hinkle – 4.2 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 4 strikeouts