SAN FRANCISCO — It took every single one of its at-bats, but the San Francisco baseball team came from behind once again Sunday, erasing a 4-0 deficit with five unanswered runs – including three in the bottom of the eighth – to beat Portland, 5-4, and clinch a West Coast Conference series victory over the Pilots at Benedetti Diamond.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Jacob Muñoz was Sunday's hero in the bottom of the eighth for San Francisco (12-7, 2-1 WCC). Muñoz came to bat with two outs and the bases loaded, the Dons still trailing by one at 4-3. He was on top of Portland relief pitcher Connor Knutson from the very start of his at-bat, fouling the first pitch off to the left, then fouling the next one straight back. It was the third pitch that he sent back up the middle of the infield, scoring two runs and completing the Dons' comeback – their ninth come-from-behind victory this season.
- Riley Helland got the Dons' scoring started in their three-run bottom of the eighth with his first home run of the season – a one-out solo shot that sailed over the entire three-story-tall netting in right field, cutting the Portland lead to one. RJ Cordeiro grounded out next and that left the bases empty and the Dons still trailing by one with only four outs left to play with.
- Robert Emery sparked the Dons' final push in the bottom of the eighth with a single up the middle. Nick Yovetich worked an eight-pitch walk to keep the inning alive and put two on. Then freshman pinch-hitter Brandon Greim slapped the first pitch he saw down the first base line. It was knocked down by Portland first baseman Tracye Tammaro, but Greim beat it out to load the bases and set up Muñoz's at-bat.
- Yovetich had another clutch two-out at-bat in the sixth when he knocked in the Dons' second run with a bloop single to center field, scoring Helland and making it 4-2. Cordeiro turned on a 1-2 pitch in the bottom of the fourth to put the Dons on the board for the first time with a two-out RBI double. Four of the Dons' five runs Sunday came with two outs, as they went 7 for 13 with two outs.
- Portland put up a four-spot in the third inning on five hits to take a 4-0 lead. The first five Pilots to come to bat in the inning reached safely. Tammaro hit a two-run home run – his third long ball of the series – to make it 2-0, and a double play brought in a third run. Daniel Lopez's two-out RBI double tacked on one more for Portland.
NOTABLE NUMBERS
- 5-0: USF reliever Julian Washburn moved his season record to 5-0 with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. He only allowed one hit and struck out two. Washburn has five wins in seven appearances this year.
- 6: Helland's home run made it six consecutive games now in which USF has hit at least one homer. They have seven during that stretch after hitting two on Friday.
- 6-0: The Dons are 6-0 this season in one-run games after Sunday. Each of their last four wins have come by one run. They are 8-1 in games decided by two runs or less.
COMING UP
- The Dons embark on an eight-game road trip starting Tuesday across the Bay at California. They will play their first road WCC series starting Friday at San Diego, then head to Nevada on March 26 and South Bay rival Santa Clara for a three-game WCC road series on March 29-31. Fans can find all live coverage links on USFDons.com.
