April 25, 2008

Final Stats

(San Francisco, CA) - San Francisco took an exciting 10-9 victory in the tenth inning of the opening game of the weekend West Coast Conference set with Portland on Friday at Benedetti Diamond. The Pilots (17-24, 5-11 WCC) roared back from a 9-1 deficit in the fourth, by scoring nine runs over five innings, but USF (24-18, 7-6 WCC) stole the win in the tenth.

Senior right fielder Kyle Morgan squeaked out an infield single to shortstop to start the tenth frame. Senior pitcher Mitchell Bialosky struck out and Portland's sophomore catcher Rocky Gale threw to first to try and pick Morgan off the bag. His throw sailed into right field and Morgan advanced to second. On the very first pitch to junior left fielder Drew Johnson, Morgan stole third, barely reaching safely as the Pilots had thrown a pitch out on the play. Johnson walked before freshman first baseman Stephen Yarrow came to the plate. Yarrow pushed a slow roller to second that allowed Morgan to slide into home just under the tag of Gale, taking the 10-9 win.

USF had a comfortable 9-1 lead going into the top of the fourth, but the Pilots had more to say. They scored three in both the fifth and sixth innings, one in the seventh, and junior first baseman Chase Powell stroked a solo homerun over the right center field fence to tie the ballgame in the eighth. Portland pitchers held the Dons scoreless for six innings before the game winning run in the tenth.

Portland made four costly errors in the game, two of which came in the second, giving the Dons a 3-0 lead. With one out, sophomore catcher Ryan Lipkin reached base when freshman right fielder Tyler Thompson dropped his fly ball. An out later, sophomore third baseman Derek Poppert reached on an error by senior third baseman Danny Meier. Both runners scored on senior shortstop Tavo Hall's team leading 13th double. Hall then scored on senior second baseman Joey Railey's double to left center.

USF broke it open in the third, plating five. With one out and bases loaded, sophomore center fielder Bobby Ethel singled to right, scoring one and keeping the bags full. Poppert then emptied them on a deep double down the left field line. Hall reached base on a bunt single, pushing Poppert to third, who then scored on the Pilots' third error of the contest. Gale threw to first trying to get a speedy Hall, but the ball just ended up getting past Powell at first.

USF added an insurance run in the fourth on an RBI double from Lipkin.

Sophomore right-hander Alex Kalogrides started for the Dons, giving up four runs (one earned) off five hits, three walks, and struck out three in 5.0 innings. His bullpen allowed the Pilots to tie it over the next three innings. Sophomore righty Chase Tigert allowed three earned runs off one hit and two walks in 0.2 innings before giving way to senior right-hander Brian Anderson. In 0.2 innings, Anderson allowed one earned run off two hits and three walks. Freshman left-hander Garrett Luippold allowed the Pilots final earned run off one hit, one walk, and four strikeouts in 1.2 innings.

Bialosky (3-5) earned the victory, not allowing a run off just one hit, and struck out four Pilots in 2.0 innings. Bialosky also went 2-for-5 at the plate with a walk.

USF smashed 17 hits in the contest, the third highest total this season. Morgan was 4-for-6 with two doubles, a big stolen base, and two runs scored. Railey had three hits, including his 11th double of the season, and one RBI. Hall had two hits with a double, two runs scored and three RBI. Poppert had a double with three RBI and two runs scored. Lipkin went 1-for-2 with an RBI and two runs scored. Kim doubled and scored twice. Johnson, Ethel, and Bernatz also singled.

Portland's freshman right-hander Zach Varce allowed Morgan's run in relief, facing two batters in the tenth. Junior right-hander Matthew Lange (3-5) took the loss, allowing one unearned run off one hit and three strikeouts in 2.1 innings. Junior right-hander Mark Triolo started, allowing eight runs (five earned) off 10 hits, no walks, and one strikeout in 2.1 innings. Powell went 3-for-6 with a homerun and five RBI to lead the Pilots at the plate.

Game two of the three game series is set for 1:00 PM tomorrow at Benedetti Diamond.