THE RUNDOWN
SAN FRANCISCO- The University of San Francisco's baseball team clinched their season opening West Coast Conference series with a sweep of Pacific in walk-off fashion.
 
The Dons got the offense going in the third inning, knocking in five runs. Jack Winkler worked a one-out walk, followed by Jonathan Allen reaching first after getting hit by a pitch. Tyler Villaroman stepped up next and singled into right center field to drive in Winkler and move Allen to third base. Mike Perri came up next and drove in Allen on a sacrifice fly to right field, Allen used some fancy footwork to avoid being tagged out to make it 2-0, USF.
 
Villaroman was the next run driven in, advancing to third on a pass ball, then scoring on a single up the middle by Ross Puskarich. Riley Helland kept the USF hits going when he doubled to left center to drive in Puskarich. Next up was Brady Bate, who doubled as well to score Helland and make it 5-0, USF.
 
USF added another run in the fourth inning. Aaron Ping led off the inning with a double down the left field line. The senior then advanced to third on a wild pitch before getting driven in by Winkler as the freshman grounded out to the shortstop.
 
Pacific added a run of their own in the sixth inning. After a lead-off walk, the Tigers' Nate Verlin advanced to second on a wild pitch and later scored on a two-out RBI double from Tyler Ryan, making it 6-1 USF.
 
The Dons entered the top of the ninth up five runs with senior Grant Goodman on the mound, but the Tigers would not go out quietly. Back-to-back singles to start the inning was followed by a walk to load the bases. Pacific's Kevin Sandri stepped up next and singled to center field, which drove in two runs. James Free would drive in another for the Tigers to make it 6-4, USF. Scott Parker would come on in relief for Goodman.
 
Parker would get two outs, but would allow one run on a wild pitch before being replaced by Daniel Slominski. The Tigers would get their fifth and final run of the inning from a single up the middle, which evened the score at 6-6.
 
Senior Aaron Ping sparked the USF ninth inning rally, working the count to earn a one-out walk. Winkler stepped up next and singled to left field to put runners on first and second. Allen would come up next and earn a walk to load the bases for Villaroman. After seeing a few pitches, Villaroman launched a ball over the head of the left fielder to drive in Ping, ending the game with a 7-6 USF win.
 
The Dons are now 12-7 on the season and will cap their season-long home stand with a one game matchup against Nevada. First pitch will be at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Mar. 20.
 
COACHES QUOTES
Head Coach Nino Giarratano
 
GAME STATS

• Villaroman not only drove in the game-winning run for the Dons, but the winning run was his second RBI of the game, which led the team on the day.
• Brendan Jenkins' two scoreless innings, making that 16.1 innings without allowing a run to score.
• Slominski's win is his first of the year.
• Perri's RBI puts him at 17 on the season and has him leading the team in that category.