March 10, 2002

Box Score

(San Francisco) - The Dons fought back from a 2-0 deficit to beat the University of San Diego Toreros 5-4 in 11 innings Sunday. The win is the first for the Dons against a Top 25 team this season and the first victory over USD since April 2, 2000 when the Dons defeated the Toreros 12-11 in 5:46 marathon 15 inning contest at Benedetti Diamond. USF broke San Diego's seven-game winning streak with the win and handed the #23 Toreros just their fourth loss of the season.

San Diego (18-4, 2-1) jumped on the board early scoring a run in the second inning and another in the fourth to take the 2-0 lead. The Dons (7-13, 1-2) battled back putting one run on the board in the fourth and three in the fifth to take the 4-2 lead. Senior catcher Steve Booth hit an RBI single down the third baseline to put the Dons on the board in the fourth to cut the Toreros lead to 2-1. Junior right fielder Ryan Sittauer led off the fifth with a single to center field for USF and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from senior second baseman Luke Gradishar. Freshman shortstop Cy Donald walked and senior center fielder Nick Tarbat followed with a single to move Donald to second. Sittauer was thrown out from left field at the plate. Freshman third baseman Royce Fukuroku blasted a two RBI double to right center to score Tarbat and Donald and to take the 3-2 lead over USD. Sophomore left fielder Joe Jacobitz earned a walk to put Dons on first and second with two outs. Junior designated hitter Alfonso Valdez knocked in Fukuroku with a single to right field to increase the Dons' lead to 4-2.

The game was quiet until the eighth inning when San Diego posted a run. The Toreros put another run on the board with a solo homerun shot from senior catcher S.C. Assael in the ninth to tie the game at 4-4 but the Dons were unable to score in the bottom of the ninth to put the game into extra innings. In the bottom of the 11th inning, sophomore shortstop Armand Gaerlan made a surprise re-entry into the lineup after breaking his jaw earlier this season in Riverside. Gaerlan knocked a long hit for a standup double to start the Dons. Sophomore Greg Kagawa was brought in to pinch run for Gaerlan and advanced to third when Tarbat was put out at first. Fukuroku came to the plate with two outs and Kagawa on third and nailed a clutch RBI single to win the game for the Dons 5-4.

Fukuroku led the Dons at the plate hitting 3-for-5 with three RBI and one run scored on the day including the game-winning single. Gradishar put in a 2-for-4 day at the plate for USF with his fourth double of the season. Senior right-handed pitcher Jess Mena collected his second win of the season improving his record to 2-0 with one save. Mena pitched three complete innings for the Dons allowing only one run off three hits while retiring four batters. Junior right-hander Bryan Williams started for the Dons allowing three runs off six hits in eight complete innings while fanning seven Toreros.

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Aaron Wilson got the start for the Toreros and allowed four runs off eight Don hits in 5.1 innings of work. Wilson was relieves by junior southpaw Mike Oseguera who threw 2.1 innings for the Toreros allowing only three hits. Sophomore right-hander Matt Coy threw the next third of an inning giving up only one hit. Junior left-handed closer Tony Perez was called from left field to finish up the last 2.2 innings of the contest giving up one run off three hits. Perez recorded the loss for the Toreros dropping his record to 1-2 on the year.

The Dons will return to action on Tuesday when they travel against the bridge to play California in a non-conference contest. USF will then travel to San Diego for a three-game rematch with the Toreros March 15-17 at Cunningham Stadium. USF away games against California and San Diego will be broadcast live via the Internet. Log on to www.usfdons.com for all the action. Join Mark Papadopoulos, Dan Harrington and Caroline Montano for all the play-by-play from the road.