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Dons Baseball Falls to San Diego State 12-4
May 11, 2009
(San Diego, CA) - San Francisco baseball dropped a 12-4 decision to San Diego State at Tony Gwynn Stadium on Monday afternoon. The Dons (26-27) close out non-conference action with the loss.
Both teams flip-flopped the lead through the first three innings. USF scored one in the first to go up 1-0 early. Senior left fielder Zach Kim doubled to start the game, moved to third on junior center fielder Bobby Ethel's single to center, and scored on junior shortstop Derek Poppert's single to center. But the Aztecs (35-18) took the 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second off two RBI singles from freshman Chris Wilson and junior Pat Cowell.
USF regained the lead, scoring three in the top of the third. Poppert added his second RBI single of the contest, plating Kim to tie the ballgame at 2-2. Kim had led off the inning getting hit by a pitch, moved to second on Ethel's groundout, and then stole his 37th base of the season. After Poppert stole his 15th base of the year, sophomore second baseman Stephen Yarrow hit his team leading 12th homerun, a two-run shot to right field.
San Diego State put up four in the bottom of the frame to take a 6-4 lead, and would not look back. The Aztecs scored another in the fourth, two in the sixth, and three in the eighth to earn the 12-4 victory.
Sophomore left-hander Garrett Luippold (0-4) takes the loss in relief, giving up three earned runs off two hits and two walks in 0.2 innings. Starter Cameron Love allowed two earned runs off four hits and a walk in 1.2 innings of work. Poppert led the Dons with two of their five hits on the day, with Kim, Ethel, and Yarrow rounding out the total with one each.
Senior right-hander Jon Berger (4-5) earned the win, allowing four earned runs off five hits, with five strikeouts and no walks. Berger was roughed up a bit in the first few innings, but sat down 13 straight Dons from the final out of the third through the final out of the seventh. Wilson led the Aztecs with three hits, including a homerun and three RBI.
USF travels to Portland, OR this weekend for a three-game conference set with the Pilots. Friday's game is set for 3:00 PM with both Saturday and Sunday first pitches slated for 1:00 PM.
NOTES: Zach Kim stole his second and third bases of the game in the eighth inning to give him 38 for the year. He is now tied for first on the Dons single season chart with Jermaine Clark (1995)... Stephen Yarrow's 12th homerun puts him into a four-way tie for 10th on the single season charts. The last Don to homer 12 times in a season was Chad Soares in 2000.
