SAN DIEGO, Calif.—The Dons came into the series knowing that it was an opportunity to take over the top spot in the West Coast Conference and played one of their better games of the season through the first eight innings but became a bit tight in the ninth.
 
After the Dons took advantage of an early miscue and rode another stellar outing from Anthony Shew, San Diego scored five times in the ninth but USF was able to hold on for the 9-6 West Coast Conference victory on Friday night.
 
"We got a break at the start of the game and we put together some great at bats," San Francisco head coach Nino Giarratano said. "We're in first place and that's what we need to focus on and we've got to get the kids to see that. I'd like to focus on us being 20-9 since the start of March. They've played as good of baseball as anybody over the last 30 games."
 
The win moved San Francisco (20-19, 12-4 WCC) into a first place tie in the WCC with the Toreros (22-14, 12-4) and the teams will meet for the second game of the series on Saturday at 6 p.m. with Christian Cecilio (4-1, 1.77 ERA) going for the Dons.
 
A two-out single to center from Matt Sinatro moved Dominic Miroglio and set up runners at the corners for Michael Eaton and he hit what appeared to be a routine fly ball into right center but San Diego centerfielder Austin Bailey fumbled the ball to allow two runners to score and give USF a 2-0 lead.
 
Sinatro reached base three times and went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
 
Connor Hofmann came up next and he slapped a ball into the leftfield corner to bring home Eaton and take a three-run lead.
 
Shew came back to the mound in the bottom half of the inning and got himself into some trouble with a hit-by-pitch and a walk to put two on with no outs. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners up to second and third, Shew got a pop up and then ended the inning on a strikeout.
 
In the fourth, Justin McCullough and Zack McCoy reached base and moved to second and third with one out for Eaton. The Dons second baseman, who came into the game hitting .407 over his last eight games, ripped a single into leftfield to bring home McCullough and McCoy and put USF up 5-0.
 
Eaton went 3-for-5 with three RBI on the night.
 
"Mike's been fantastic and we've talked about that over the last month," Giarratano said. "Tonight was the same situations, he put four really good at bats from him."
 
The runs in the fourth were only the fourth and fifth earned runs allowed by San Diego starter David Hill over his last eight outings. Hill went six innings and allowed five runs on six hits and struck out two.
 
The five runs are also the most that have scored against Hill since the opening weekend against Morehead State when he allowed six. The loss also snapped a seven-game winning streak for the right hander.
 
"We were aggressive and we saw good pitches," Giarratano said. "We were fortunate to catch [Hill] on an off night but also fortunate to put together good at bats to put him in that situation."
 
USF has won nine of its last 10 games and moved above .500 for the first time this season.
 
Just like in the second, San Diego's first two batters reached as it got a leadoff double and a one-out single to put runners at the corners but Shew battled back to get a swinging strikeout and soft grounder to short to end the inning.
 
Shew (6-3) went eight innings and allowed one run on eight hits with three strikeouts.
 
"What a great start by him the whole way around," Giarratano said of Shew. "He didn't have the sharpness with the curve ball but he was able to command his fastball and that was the difference for him."
 
The Dons added on in the eighth and got a leadoff home run from Justin McCullough to make it a six-run cushion. With runners at first and second, Eaton came up and hit a fly ball just over the head of the San Diego leftfielder to plate one for an RBI double.
 
McCullough went 3-for-5 on the night.