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USF Baseball Wins 10-7 at Loyola Marymount
April 24, 2004
(Los Angeles) - San Francisco entered game two against Loyola Marymount facing a gut check situation. The Diamond Dons responded with an impressive 10-7 marathon West Coast Conference victory in front of 347 fans Saturday afternoon at Page Stadium. USF (20-23, 8-9 WCC) got outstanding performances throughout their lineup as they sent the Lions (24-18-1, 14-6 WCC) to just their third loss of the season at their home park.
Sophomore outfielder Stefan Gartrell belted his team-leading fifth homerun of the season, a two-run shot in the fourth inning. Junior right-handed reliever Steve Spurgeon (2-0) earned the relief win for the Diamond Dons, allowing one run off two hits in 2.1 innings of work to go along with three strikeouts. Sophomore right-handed closer Patrick McGuigan earned his fifth save, surrendering just one hit in 2.0 innings and struck out three.
Senior shortstop Armand Gaerlan doubled and scored on a 3-for-4 day at the plate, while senior outfielder Joe Jacobitz also went 3-for-4 with a two-run double in the seventh inning. Freshman catcher Blake Nelson also went 3-for-4 and scored three times after reaching as a leadoff hitter.
USF got on the board first in the second on a sacrifice fly from Gartrell, scoring Nelson, who singled. LMU responded in the bottom of the inning tying the score on an RBI triple from Billy Lockin. The Lions tacked on three more runs in the third to take a 4-1 lead. San Francisco bounced back with two runs in the fourth on another leadoff single from Nelson, followed by Gartrell's two-run blast to right to close the gap to 4-3.
LMU answered with another run in the bottom of the frame, but the Dons added two more in the fifth after senior infielder Craig Click singled and advanced to third on a double from Gaerlan. Senior infielder Chris Genung slammed a two-run double to deep left center to tie the contest at 5-5.
USF's lead was short-lived as the Lions scored once in the fifth on an RBI double from Joe Frazee. San Francisco bounced back with two runs in the seventh on a Jacobitz's two-run double and took a 7-6 lead they would not surrender. The Diamond Dons added another run in the eighth on a RBI single from sophomore infielder Andrew Smith, scoring sophomore outfielder Jonnie, who reached on a fielding error, advanced to second and then third on wild pitches.
Although LMU answered with a run in the bottom of the eighth, a two run double by Knoble in the ninth gave USF more insurance than they would need with McGuigan on the mound.
Senior left-handed starter Derek Tate turned in a gutsy performance for USF, allowing six runs (five earned) off 10 hits in 4.2 innings of work. LMU starter Will Quaglieri (3-5) suffered the loss, allowing seven runs off 12 hits and added three strikeouts in 6.2 innings.
USF squares off against the Lions Sunday in the rubber match of the three-game WCC interdivisional set on Sunday. First pitch scheduled for 1:00 PM at Page Stadium.
NOTES: The game lasted 3:55, the longest contest of the season for USF... Genung's double gave him 18 on the season, extending his team and WCC-lead... Geung moves into a share of fourth place on the single-season doubles list... San Francisco has now won four out of their last six contests at Page Stadium... Gaerlan's double gives him 33 in his career as he moves past current Major Leaguer Jermaine Clark (1995-97) for sole possession of eighth place on the top-10 list... with his fifth save of the season, Patrick McGuigan is tied for second place on the single-season saves leader board, first place is owned by Chuck Nat, who recorded six saves in 1982.
