SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- On a beautiful afternoon on the Hilltop, the USF Dons baseball team (0-1) dropped their home opener on Friday to the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (1-0) 5-2 at Benedetti Diamond. Opening Day starter Owen Stevenson had a nice performance on the bump as he threw five innings allowing one unearned run and striking out five Gaucho hitters while not issuing a walk.

USF's lineup this afternoon was carried by two big solo blasts from outfielder Harris Williams III and infielder Jake Cosgrove to open the regular season. 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• The Gauchos got on the board scoring an unearned run to take the early 1-0 lead before the Dons were able to take their first at-bats of the season.
• Williams responded in the bottom of the second by crushing a home run down the right field line to even the score.
• USF took the lead in the bottom of the fifth with some more yard work as Cosgrove drove a ball over the brick wall in left field to put the Dons up 2-1.
• UCSB got to work later in the contest as they strung hits together in the eighth inning to take a 4-2 lead after eight innings.
• The Gauchos added an insurance run in the top of the ninth on a successful squeeze bunt as they went on to win the season opener by a 5-2 final.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Stevenson got his 2022 season off to a fantastic start by successfully navigating a strong UCSB lineup to allow just the one unearned run. The righthander was able to get outs in a variety of ways with four fly outs, four ground outs amd five strikeouts on the afternoon.
• Williams III got his season off to a nice start as he clubbed his first home run of the year to also get his first RBI and run scored of the regular season.
• Cosgrove provided some nice thump from the eight hole with his solo blast as he started his season with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate.
• Hitting in the leadoff spot, designated hitter Jordan Vujovich got on base twice with a single and a walk in a 1-for-3 afternoon in the batter's box.

UP NEXT:
The Dons and Gauchos now prepare for the second game of this weekend's three-game set with the Dons sending left-hander Weston Lombard to the mound for his USF debut on Saturday afternoon. First pitch will be at 1:00 p.m. PST with live streaming and live statistics links available via the team's schedule page.

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