May 3, 2003

Final Stats

(San Francisco) - USF completed a double-header sweep of San Diego with a thrilling 8-7 West Coast Conference baseball victory against Portland Saturday at Benedetti Diamond. With the win San Francisco (21-27, 14-12 WCC) takes sole possession of first place in the West Division of the WCCC going up half a game on idle San Diego, whose contest against Loyola Marymount was rained out in San Diego. The winner of the West Division squares off against the winner of the Coast Division in a three-game series, with the winner earning the league's automatic berth.

Senior outfielder Jason Howard provided the big jolt for the Diamond Dons in the fifth launching a grand slam homerun to deep right center to give USF a 7-3 lead. Portland scored a pair of runs in the sixth and seventh to tie the contest at 7-7. San Francisco added a run in the eighth on an RBI pinch-hit single from senior Ryan Sittauer.

Freshman Patrick McGuigan (1-0) recorded the win for USF, holding the Pilots hitless in 1.1 innings of work and added three strikeouts in the four batters he faced to collect his first win on the Hilltop. Junior left-handed closer Derek Tate picked up his third save of the season recording the last two outs of the ninth.

Howard finished 2-for-four with four RBI, while sophomore infielder Royce Fukuroku went 2-for-3 with a RBI double and a two-run homerun, his second of the year in the second.

Portland went deep three times in the contest as freshman infielder Pat Geraghty in the third and senior catcher Brock Griffin in the seventh powered their first long balls of the year. In addition, freshman outfielder Justin Pierce launched his third homerun of the double-header in the seventh. Griffin went 3-for-4 with two RBI.

USF returns to action Sunday when they host the Pilots in the series finale. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 PM at Benedetti Diamond.