April 12, 2002

(San Francisco) - USF dropped the first game in a three-game West Coast Conference series with the Bulldogs of Gonzaga 8-4 Friday at Benedetti Diamond. Despite back-to-back homeruns from sophomore shortstop Armand Gaerlan and sophomore outfielder Joe Jacobitz in the seventh inning, the Dons came up short.

The Bulldogs (18-16, 7-6 WCC) jumped to the early lead in the third with a 2 RBI homerun shot from junior shortstop Grant Zurmely to post a 2-0 lead over the Dons (8-30, 1-14 WCC). Zumerly repeated the feat and posted another two runs to take the 4-0 lead on another 2 RBI put of the park blast. Gonzaga added another run in the sixth to take the 5-0 lead.

USF tried to rally back in the seventh with a three-run inning. Gaerlan knocked in two with a 2 RBI homerun to left field to cut the Bulldogs lead to 5-2. Jacobitz then knocked a solo shot out of the diamond to cut the lead further to 5-3. Gonzaga answered with a run in the eighth to increase their lead to 6-3. USF tried to rally but only posted a lone run on the scoreboard leaving the score at 6-4 going into the final inning. The Bulldogs added two insurance runs in the ninth and took the 8-4 victory from the Dons.

Seven Dons collected one or more hits today at the plate. Leading the team was Gaerlan who finished the day two-for-four with one run scored and two RBI off his seventh inning homerun shot. The homeruns marks Gaerlan's seventh of the season ranking him second on the team behind senior catcher Steve Booth. Jacobitz finished the contest two-for-five with one run scored and one RBI from his seventh inning solo jack, his third of the season. Junior designated hitter Alfonso Valdez, freshman right fielder Jimmy Milkovich and freshman third baseman Cy Donald all collected two hits on the day as well.

Senior southpaw Jeremy Kinney started on the hill for the Dons and suffered the loss dropping his season record to 1-4. Kinney pitched the first complete five innings giving up four runs off six hits while fanning five Bulldogs. Junior right-hander Zack Brooks relieved Kinney in the sixth and saw 2.1 innings of work giving up two runs of four hits. Senior right-hander Steve Moses saw 1.1 innings of play giving up two runs off three hits. Senior right-hander Jesse Mena closed the contest for the Dons allowing only one hit and no runs.

The Bulldogs finished the day with fourteen hits and five players collecting two or more hits in the contest. Senior designated hitter Brian Munhall finished three-for-four at the plate with three runs scored. Zurmely finished two-for-five on the day with two runs scored and four RBI with two homeruns. On the mound, sophomore southpaw Ed Clelland improved his record to 4-3 on the season. Clelland threw 7.1 innings giving up four runs off 12 hits while striking out five opponents. Sophomore right-hander Eric Everson closed for the Bulldogs recording his fifth save of the season. Everson saw 1.2 innings of work allowing no runs and no hits.

The teams return to conference action Saturday for a 1:00 PM first pitch at Benedetti Diamond. The final game of the series will be at 1:00 PM Sunday. Catch all the action and play-by-play at www.usfdons.com.