STANFORD, Calif. — The University of San Francisco baseball team held three leads Thursday in game one at Stanford, but the host Cardinal came back every time, eventually leading to a walk-off, 7-6, extra-innings, series-opening victory.
 
The Dons (4-5) broke open a 0-0 game with three runs in the fifth. A two-run triple by Nick Yovetich and a sacrifice fly to bring him home by Jacob Westerman made it 3-0 USF. San Francisco starter Josh Mollerus got a key shutdown inning in the bottom half. After allowing a leadoff triple, he stranded the runner at third with a groundout and back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning and preserve USF's 3-0 lead. The Dons would expand their lead to 4-0 the next inning with Darius Foster scrambling two bases on a wild pitch.
 
But as Stanford (4-1) had done last weekend versus Santa Clara, it used two-out hitting all afternoon to keep pace. After loading the bases in the bottom of the fifth with two outs and chasing Mollerus, back-to-back two-run hits would tie things up. A two-run double by Brock Jones on the first pitch he saw made it 4-2, and a two-run single by Kody Huff on the second pitch he saw made it 4-4.
 
San Francisco wasn't done though, as it regained the lead with single runs in both the sixth and eighth innings. The Dons loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth but only managed one run on a fielder's choice groundout. Stanford's Brett Barrera hit a leadoff solo home run in the seventh to tie things at 5-5, but again the Dons would go back ahead with three consecutive singles to start the eighth inning. It was Yovetich's RBI single that made it 6-5.
 
Down to two outs again in the ninth, Stanford got a clutch RBI single on the first pitch from Tawa to tie it at 6-6. The Dons got the go-ahead run into scoring position with no outs in the 10th, but a strikeout, flyout and groundout ended the threat. A leadoff single in the bottom of the 10th by Huff gave Stanford a chance, and a USF error on a potential inning-ending double-play ball put the winning run in scoring position. That's when Christian Robinson singled through the right side of the infield, bringing home Huff and winning the game for Stanford.
 
"I think we did a lot of things well today, it was nice to be able to compete and grab three leads, but we couldn't finish," said San Francisco head coach Nino Giarratano. "I think we go into these games expecting to win. We know we're good enough to win. But we have to be able to perform in these situations and get the job done."
 
Game two of the series is set for a 2:05 p.m. first pitch Friday. USF righty Landen Bourassa is scheduled to start for the Dons. Fans can find all live coverage links on USFDons.com.