SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Rain put a halt to Opening Day on Friday, but it all worked out for the best for the Dons as they were able to gather themselves and tally two wins on Saturday.

When rain ceased play on Friday, the Dons were in a tough spot: bases loaded, one out and a 1-0 count on the Northern Colorado clean-up hitter Cole Maltese. Head coach Nino Giarratano knew how he would come back on Saturday and try to keep his team in the game.

"Yesterday, at the end of the day we thought we'd just go with our best arm," he said. "That's our closer, Joey Carney. He came in and he wasn't extremely sharp, but he held them to one (run). I think that was the key to the whole day. We got the momentum right there."

The Dons would mount their comeback in the bottom of the eighth inning when true freshman Tyler Villaroman pinch-hit for Harrison Bruce and walked to start the inning. Matt Sinatro then laid down a sacrifice bunt, which he nearly beat out, setting the table for Nico Giarratano who doubled Villaroman home.

Allen Smoot followed that up with a knock of his own, setting the table for catcher Dominic Miroglio who made his presence felt in his return from injury last (missed all but eight games last year) by singling in Giarratano to tie the game.

Carney held Northern Colorado scoreless in the top of the ninth inning, setting up the Dons for a dramatic end to the season opener. Brady Bate led off the home half by scorching a double down the left field line. After a Dan James lineout and a Villaroman ground out, it was up to lead-off hitter Matt Sinatro to get the job done.
Sinatro clobbered an inside fastball off the netting above the right field fence, and while it was nearly a walk-off home run, it got the Dons a win nonetheless.

There would be no comeback needed for the Dons in the second game of the day as they came out swinging. Smoot put the hosts on the board in the first inning by driving in Sinatro with a laser to right field.

In the second frame, Bate would double home Ross Puskarich and then be knocked in by Villaroman. The Dons were rolling early and feeding off the energy they were getting from starting pitcher Grant Goodman.

Goodman, who earned the win, went six impressive innings in his season debut only allowing one earned run and four hits while striking out four.

"He came in and he pounded the strike zone," Giarratano said of Goodman. "He got a lot of first pitch outs and it was great for us to see that. Goodman gave us a lift today."

Getting the save in game two with three innings of one run ball in which he struck out four batters was Grant Young. Young is a true freshman who impressed in his collegiate debut.

"I think the whole day revolved around Joey Carney getting us (out of the inning) with just one run," Giarratano said. "Then we had the magical walk-off by Sinatro to start the season up off the net which was great for us. Then we just ran with that momentum through game two with Grant (Goodman) and the offense."

DOUBLING DONS

The Diamond Dons tallied an impressive 10 doubles in the first two games of the season. Game one saw three doubles, one by Giarratano and two by Bate. Game two, however, had seven doubles by seven different Dons. There was one a piece from Sinatro, Giarratano, Miroglio, Smoot, Perri, Puskarich and Bate.

THE STREAK LIVES ON

Puskarich entered the 2017 season with a 17 game hit streak still intact from 2016. After two games Puskarich has extended his hit streak to 19 games, going 4-for-8 with two runs and two rbi to open the season.

FRESH FACES

It was an impressive debut for three players seeing their first action as a Don. Second baseman Michael Perri, who sat out last season after transferring from Pepperdine, went 3-for-8 in the opening two games with one run, one rbi and a web gem while diving to his left in game two.

Freshman outfielder, Villaroman scored after tallying a pinch-hit walk in game one. He then got the start in game two and went 1-for-4 with a run, an rbi and a stolen base.

And fellow freshman, Young got the save in game two as he relieved Goodman with three impressive innings of one run, four strikeout ball.

HOT START

Benedetti Diamond is treating the Dons well as they improve to 9-4 since it's opening. This was the team's first opening day at home since 2013 and first win to start the season since 2012 when they knocked off San Jose State. That was also the last time the team won its first two games. The last time the Dons took the first three games of a season was 2005 by beating San Jose St., UC Davis and Sacramento St. The longest win streak USF has had to open a season was seven games in 1996.  

SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY

The Dons will look to play both remaining games scheduled with Northern Colorado on Sunday as a part of a more traditional double-header than the one on Saturday. First pitch of game one is slated for 11 a.m. and game two will start approximately 40 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. All dates and times are subject to change due to weather.

You can buy tickets to come watch the Diamond Dons pursue their best start to a season since 1996 by clicking here.