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USF Baseball Thomas Ponticelli
Christina Leung
6
Winner San Francisco USF 13-8, 4-0 WCC
4
Portland POR 8-13, 2-2 WCC
Winner
San Francisco USF
13-8, 4-0 WCC
6
Final
4
Portland POR
8-13, 2-2 WCC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
San Francisco USF 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 2 0 6 11 1
Portland POR 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 4 6 2

W: Ponticelli, Thomas (4-0) L: MORSE, Eli (2-3)

Game Recap: Baseball |

BSB | Dons Down Pilots to Remain Undefeated in WCC

THE RUNDOWN
PORTLAND, Ore. – The University of San Francisco's baseball team defeated Portland (8-13, 2-2) on Friday evening, 6-4. Despite very wet conditions, the Dons (13-8, 4-0 WCC) managed to keep their clean sheet in conference play in the first game of a three-game series.
 
After a quiet two innings with only one combined hit between the two teams, the Dons started the scoring with a single to left field from Riley Helland, sending Aaron Ping and Jack Winkler home. The inning gave the Bay Area team a 2-0 lead.
 
Starting pitcher Thomas Ponticelli did a great job of keeping the Pilots grounded, recording zero hits until the sixth inning. The hosts had two hits and one run to close the gap to one score, but the Dons responded quickly in the next two innings to extend the lead.
 
RJ Cordeiro started the Dons off in the seventh with a solo shot home run, his first of the season. Ping would score as well, his second of the day, off a single from Jonathan Allen. USF added two more runs to the board in the eighth, seeing Michael Perri and Cordeiro (unearned) make their way around the bases.
 
The Pilots made their move in the bottom of the eighth, trimming the lead to three runs with two scores in. The Dons could not cover the difference in the top of the ninth, leaving Brendan Jenkins to hold off three runs and close the deal.
 
After having gone 17.1 innings without allowing a run, Jenkins allowed three in the game. However, he managed to stave off a rally from Pilots in the final inning, earning his fourth save.
 
COACHES QUOTES
Head Coach Nino Giarratano
On the conditions:
"It was a very tough night – rainy, cold, windy. The guys battled hard, we got the lead and we held on, but it wasn't easy. It's never going to be easy in conference play."
 
On performances:
Offensively I thought we did some really good things, everybody throughout the line up was successful in helping us take the lead. After the first inning, Thomas was fabulous from the mound. Once he settled in, I thought he did a great job.  
 
We had a big lift by RJ today and we needed someone to do that for us. His home run was huge…it was a 2-1 game at the time and his score really lifted us.
 
Also have to say, Jenkins is a battler. Although he struggled, he battled, got the last out of the game and help us get the W. I'm always happy with his competitiveness.
 
GAME NOTES
  • Thomas Ponticelli is now 4-0. He recorded nine strikeouts, tying his season high. He last threw as many strikes against Sacramento State. He allowed a season-low two hits, his previous was five against Xavier.
  • In the DH slot, Cordeiro recorded his first home run on the season. He also recorded three hits in the contest, his first three-hit game and second multi-hit game of the season.
  • Helland earned two RBI's on the day, bringing his total on the year to 13. He sits two behind Ross Puskarich (15). This is his fourth two-RBI game and sixth multi-RBI game.
  • Michael Perri extended his hitting streak to six games, longest current streak on the roster.
  • Jonathan Allen picked up his fifth steal on the year. He is 5-5 in his attempts.
  • Jenkins snapped a streak of 17.1 innings without allowing a run. He had not given up a run this season until the eighth inning tonight.
  • The Dons have won the season series with the Pilots each of the last three years.
 
 
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