April 18, 2003

(San Francisco) - For the second straight day, USF rallied late, but could not overcome a big Pepperdine lead, falling to the Waves 7-3 in West Coast Conference baseball action Friday at Benedetti Diamond. USF (16-25, 9-11 WCC) was shutout for the first six innings of the contest, but battled back from a 4-0 deficit with two runs in the seventh of Pepperdine (25-15, 14-3 WCC). The Waves have won 11 of their last 12 games.

USF got on the board in the seventh with a leadoff single by junior infielder Nick Cirbo, followed by a double to left center by junior catcher Ryan Hanson. Cirbo scored on a ground out by sophomore infielder Cy Donald and Cirbo scored on a RBI single by freshman outfielder Jonnie Knoble. The Waves answered with two runs in the top of the eighth to increase their lead to 7-2.

Junior infielder Armand Gaerlan homered to deep left for his seventh long ball of the season. For Gaerlan it was his second long ball of the series against the Waves.

Senior right-hander Bryan Williams (4-3) suffered the loss for the Diamond Dons, allowing four runs off 10 hits in 7.0 innings of work. Junior right-hander Jacob Barrack (6-1) earned the win, allowing three runs while scattering 11 hits in 8.0 innings.

Donald, Gaerlan and Knoble each finished 2-for-4. Senior shortstop Kevin Estrada and junior outfielder Corey Brightwell each went 3-for-5 for the Waves, while sophomore catcher Nelson Caraballo hit his fourth homerun of the season.

USF takes on the Waves in the series finale Saturday. First pitch is at 1:00 PM at Benedetti Diamond.