SAN DIEGO—San Diego completed a dramatic 6-4 comeback victory over San Francisco on Sunday afternoon at Fowler Park to take the series, 2-1.
The Toreros (17-7, 3-3 WCC) trailed the Dons 4-0 heading in to the bottom of the eighth before the USD offense exploded, scoring six runs on five hits with the help of two timely USF errors to take the lead and ultimately the win in the series finale.
Pinch hitter
Paul Kunst got things going in the pivotal eighth inning with a leadoff single.
Chris McCready singled to advance Kunst to third before
Caleb Ricketts sent one through the right side to score Kunst and put the Toreros on the board.
USD then loaded the bases for
Adam Kerner who reached on a fielder's choice to score McCready, followed by an RBI single by
Ripken Reyes to bring the Toreros within one.
Tora Otsuka reached on a fielder's choice but a throwing error by the USF second baseman allowed another run to score to tie the game 4-4.
Two batters later,
Paul Kunst stepped up to the plate for the second time in the inning with the bases loaded and two outs. Kunst laid down a soft bunt along the third base line and the throw to first went sailing over the first-baseman's head to score two more and give USD the 6-4 lead.
The Dons (13-10, 3-3 WCC) added drama in the top of the ninth, putting runners on the corners with one out.
Jeff Houghtby then made a game-saving play, coming up with a quick throw home after fielding a ball that deflected off Reyes' glove at third to get the lead runner.
Travis Kuhn then shut down the USF rally with a final strikeout to clinch the victory.
Josh Hendrickson (3-1, 5.74 ERA) got the start for USD, pitching 2 2/3 innings and giving up four runs on five hits and collecting two strikeouts with no walks.
The Torero bullpen gave up just three walks, striking out six in relief of Hendrickson. Kuhn (1-1, 2.33 ERA) earned his first win of the season, taking over in seventh and collecting three strikeouts including the final out to seal the victory.
The Toreros will hit the road next week, traveling to No. 23 UC Irvine on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. before a weekend series at Gonzaga beginning Friday at 6 p.m. PT.
