SANTA CLARA, Calif. – USF starter James Kannenberg turned in another strong outing, allowing just two runs (one earned) on five hits over seven innings of work, as he helped lead the Dons to a 6-3 victory over Santa Clara on Sunday afternoon at Stephen Schott Stadium.
 
For Kannenberg (2-1), this was his second consecutive win as he issued two walks and struck out four on the day, while the Dons improved to 7-15 overall and 2-1 in WCC play.
 
"I think it was clear early that I didn't have my best stuff," said Kannenberg. "But I feel like I kept competing, kept attacking and stuck with my plan. My plan wasn't going well in the beginning, but Ryan [Matranga] and I stuck with it and let the defense make plays, and it was huge to get some offensive support in those middle innings."
 
"We're in a good spot to have that guy on a Sunday," said head coach Nino Giarratano. "He's tough. He just keeps making pitches, he's got three pitches he can use, and any time he gets in a tough situation he just bares down and stays after it."
 
Nico Giarratano (2-for-4, 2 RBI), Matt Sinatro (2-for-5, RBI) and Allen Smoot (1-for-3, 2 RBI) helped power the Dons' offense, while Beau Bozett went 2-for-2 with a pair of runs scored.
 
Santa Clara (8-10, 1-2) moved out to an early 1-0 advantage when they took advantage of a Ryan Matranga throwing error on a stolen base by Jake Brodt in the second inning that allowed Brodt to move to third and come across on the next hitter, TC Florentine's RBI groundout.
 
Both teams traded runs in the third as Sinatro laced a one-out RBI double down the left field line to tie it, before Stevie Berman dropped in a two-out RBI single to right in the bottom half of the inning to give Santa Clara a 2-1 lead.
 
A four-run fifth inning for the Dons proved to be the difference, allowing them enough separation to cruise through the final four innings.
 
The rally started when Beau Bozett was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Bozett eventually came around to score on Giarratano's sacrifice fly, which was followed by an RBI fielder's choice from Riley Helland that gave the Dons a 3-2 lead when Helland bounced a chopper to Bronco second baseman Austin Reyes, who was playing on the edge of the grass. Reyes' throw to plate was not in time to get Harrison Bruce, who slid around the tag at home.
 
Smoot capped off the scoring spurt with a two-out two-run double lined deep into the right center gap that gave the Dons a 5-2 advantage that they would hold onto until the ninth.
 
"I guess it's a good time to win your first series, at the start of conference," added Giarratano. "We're not perfect defensively, but once we've started cleaning up the defense and making pitches and not walking guys, things have started to turn around for us. I still don't think we've played great baseball; we've played good baseball at times, but I think our best baseball is ahead of us."  
 
USF tacked on an insurance run in the top of the ninth on a two-out run-scoring single looped down the left field line by Giarratano.
 
Frank Waliczek came on for the Dons in the bottom of the ninth and allowed a run on a sacrifice fly and two hits, but closed out the contest for the second game in a row.
 
Bronco starter Jason Seever (2-1) suffered his first loss of the year, going 4.2 innings where he allowed five runs on five hits while walking two and striking out two.
 
John Cresto (2-for-4) and Stevie Berman (2-for-4, RBI) were the Santa Clara offensive standouts on the day.  
 
 
WEB GEMS: With runners at second and third with one out in the bottom of the fifth, Stevie Berman lifted a fly ball to center field that Matt Sinatro caught and came up throwing with a bullet on one bounce to home, nailing Kyle Cortopassi trying to tag from third and preventing any runs from scoring.    
 
NOTES: RF Beau Bozett extended his on-base streak to 12 games with a single to lead off the third inning… with two stolen bases on the day, CF Matt Sinatro is now 10-for-10 on the year… this was the third time this season the Dons have come from behind to win.
 
UP NEXT: The Dons travel north for a mid-week nonconference matchup at Sacramento State on Tuesday, with first pitch slated for 3 p.m. USF will then host Pacific in the annual Dante Benedetti Classic on Thursday at AT&T Park. That game will begin around 5:30 p.m. following the Saint Ignatius/Sacred Heart game preceding it. That will open up a three-game WCC series with the Tigers, as the final two games of that series will take place at Pacific's Klein Family Field on Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m.