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Diamond Dons Split Double-Header with No. 13 Cal Poly
May 2, 2009
(San Luis Obispo, CA) - San Francisco baseball earned a double-header split against No. 13 Cal Poly at Baggett Stadium on Saturday. In game one, a make-up from yesterday's postponement, the Dons (23-24) took an 8-5 victory. In today's regularly scheduled contest, USF dropped a 12-9 decision over the Mustangs (31-12) in 11 innings.
GAME 1: USF jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first and never looked back en route to an 8-5 win over No. 13 Cal Poly. After scoring single runs in the third and fourth, the Dons added another three in the seventh to put it away.
Sophomore left-hander Matt Lujan (4-6) tossed 7.0 innings to earn the win, allowing three earned runs off 10 hits and a walk, with six strikeouts. Sophomore righty Matt Hiserman tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his second save of the season.
D.J. Mauldin (4-3) took the loss for the Mustangs, allowing seven runs (six earned), off nine hits and three walks, and struck out five. Adam Buschini led Cal Poly with four hits in the contest.
Junior center fielder Bobby Ethel led the Dons on a 3-for-3 night with three runs scored and an RBI. Junior shortstop Derek Poppert had two hits, including a double, and drove in a run. Freshman designated hitter Nik Balog went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Junior catcher Ryan Lipkin doubled. Senior left fielder Zach Kim walked three times on the day, and stole two bases. He raised his team and WCC leading total to 29 on the season.
GAME 2: A three-run homerun from Cal Poly's Luke Yoder in the 11th inning dropped USF 12-9 in game two.
USF scored first with a two-run homerun from Balog, but the Mustangs took the lead with four in the bottom of the frame. The Dons were down 5-3 before breaking open the game with a five run sixth. With one out, sophomore third baseman Stephen Yarrow homered to right, before consecutive singles from senior right fielder Drew Johnson and Balog. Sophomore catcher Travis Higgs walked to load the bases, and then Kim smashed an RBI single to left. Balog scored the Dons third run of the inning on sophomore center fielder Connor Bernatz's fielder's choice. Poppert smashed an RBI single to third to score Higgs, then Kim made it 8-5 when he scored on a fielding error by Cal Poly's shortstop Kyle Smith.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Yoder singled to left off reliever Hiserman, to score Smith and tie it at 9-9.
Hiserman (3-5) took the loss in relief, allowing four earned runs off four hits and a walk, and struck out three. Junior Doug Murray earned a no-decision after allowing six runs (three earned) off nine hits and two walks, and struck out two Mustangs.
Eric Massingham (7-1) took the win in relief, tossing 3.0 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out three. Matt Leonard earned a no-decision after allowing seven runs (five earned) off nine hits, with a walk and two strikeouts.
Three Dons had three hits on the day, including Yarrow, Johnson, and Balog. Yarrow homered and tripled and Balog homered and doubled for USF in the contest. Kim and Higgs each had two hits, while Ryan Lipkin added a double. Kim stole his 30th base of the season, and joins Jermaine Clark (1996) in third place on the Dons single season charts. He needs just nine more bags to take first place from Clark, who stole 38 in 1995. Ethel and Johnson also stole bases in the contest.
USF and Cal Poly conclude the three-game non-conference series tomorrow, with first pitch set for 1:00 PM.
