SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Delivering late inning magic once again at Benedetti Diamond, the University of San Francisco baseball team (23-23, 11-9 WCC) traded blows with BYU (22-18, 7-10 WCC) all afternoon before the Dons pulled ahead in the eighth as USF secured the series victory with a 9-8 win over the Cougars on Friday afternoon.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- With neither side getting on the board in the opening frame, BYU struck first with an RBI double in the top of the second to take a 1-0 lead through the first two innings of play.
- Responding shortly thereafter, USF answered with three runs on four hits in the bottom of the third, which was highlighted by an RBI double from Nick Yovetich and a two-run single from Harris Williams III. After three complete, the Dons held a 3-1 advantage.
- Moving into the fourth, both teams would erupt on offense as the Cougars plated five runs in the top of the inning before USF rallied back with four runs of their own. In USF's turn at the dish, Luke Keaschall lined an RBI double down the left field line before Gabe Giosso followed with an RBI double of his own to help the Dons remain in control, 7-6, heading into the fifth.
- After a scoreless fifth on both sides, the Cougars evened the contest once more with a sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth.
- Exchanging blows into the later innings, BYU tallied another run in the top of the eighth to jump on top 8-7, but the Dons would once again claw back. In the bottom of the inning, USF knotted the game at eight with a sacrifice fly from Giosso before Mario DeMera laced the go-ahead single through the left side to score Yovetich and give the Dons a 9-8 lead.
- Slamming the door out of the bullpen, Josh Mollerus logged his fourth save of the season as the right-hander set down the side in order in the top of the ninth to secure the 9-8 victory for USF.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
- Continuing his strong week, Yovetich tallied his eighth multi-hit game of the season as the redshirt senior finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI.
- Leading the charge at the top of the lineup, Williams III notched his eighth multi-RBI performance of the year with two on the day while Giosso drove in two himself to record his team-leading tenth multi-RBI game of the season.
- For Mollerus, the junior logged his fourteenth scoreless outing of the season as the Campbell native punched out at least two batters for the eleventh time this year on Friday afternoon.
POSTGAME:
UP NEXT:
USF and BYU will wrap up their weekend series with game three set for tomorrow, Saturday, Apr. 30. First pitch from Benedetti Diamond is scheduled for 1:00 pm as live streaming and live statistics are available via the
team's schedule page.
FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on the USF baseball program, be sure to follow @SFDonsBaseball on Twitter, @USFDonsBaseball on Instagram and @University.of.San.Francisco.Baseball on Facebook.
