May 2, 2008

Final Stats

(Spokane, WA) - San Francisco took an important West Coast Conference victory on Friday night, 7-5 over Gonzaga at the Patterson Complex. With Santa Clara falling to Loyola Marymount this afternoon, the Dons (27-20, 9-7 WCC) move into sole possession of third place in conference standings.

Junior left-hander Evan Fredrickson (5-2) earned the hard fought win, allowing five earned runs off nine hits, four walks, and eight strikeouts in 6.1 innings. Fredrickson managed to pitch out of most jams, leaving runners on base in every inning. Senior first baseman/RHP Mitchell Bialosky earned his fourth save of the year, throwing the final two innings, not allowing a run, hit, or walk, and struck out two Bulldogs (27-19, 7-8 WCC).

USF pounded out 12 hits in the contest, its fourth consecutive game with 10 or more hits, and 28th overall for the season. Senior right fielder Kyle Morgan had three hits, including two doubles. Senior second baseman Joey Railey also had two doubles in the game and added two RBI. Railey now has 223 hits as a Don and now tied with Pat Walsh (1997-00/223) for fifth place on the Dons All Time Hits Chart. Sophomore third baseman Derek Poppert went 3-for-4 with a run scored, and sophomore catcher Ryan Lipkin had two hits and an RBI. Bialosky smashed a two-run homerun and junior designated hitter Zach Kim homered immediately following that in the fourth. That is the first time all season that the Dons have homered in consecutive at bats.

Gonzaga jumped out to a 3-0 lead after three innings, but USF took the lead with five runs in the fourth. Morgan singled up the middle to start the inning before Bialosky homered to left field. Kim homered to left as well to tie it at 3-3. Two outs later, Poppert singled and advanced to second on a passed ball. Senior shortstop Tavo Hall walked to put runners on first and second. Both runners scored on Railey's double to left, making it 5-3.

USF added a couple of much needed insurance runs in the fifth and seventh. In the fifth, Morgan double to right and scored on Lipkin's single to left. In the seventh, Morgan again opened up the inning with a double, and moved to third on Bialosky's ground out. Two batters later, Morgan scored on a wild pitch to make it 7-3.

Gonzaga rallied in the bottom of the frame, smashing two consecutive homeruns of its own. Senior left fielder Marcus McKimmy and junior first basemen Ryan Wiegand homered to left and right respectively to make it 7-5. Don's freshman right-hander Sean Burns came in to relieve Fredrickson, and after giving up a couple of singles, managed to get out of the inning without any more damage.

After freshman left-hander Garrett Luippold gave up a walk to Bulldogs junior second baseman Evan Wells, Bialosky went to the mound and retired the side in both the eighth and ninth innings to secure the win.

Junior right-hander Matt Fields (7-3) took the loss for Gonzaga, allowing six earned runs off 10 hits, one walk, and struck out six Dons.

USF and Gonzaga play game two of the three game set in Spokane tomorrow. First pitch is set for 1:00 PM.