PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Pilots brought the winning run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning, but the San Francisco Dons held on for a 6-4 victory Friday night in the first of a three-game West Coast Conference baseball series at Joe Etzel Field.
Trailing 6-1 entering the bottom of the eighth inning, the Pilots (8-13, 2-2 WCC) scored two and then added another in the bottom of the ninth to make it a 6-4 deficit. Portland had the tying run in scoring position and winning run at the plate, but Brendan Jenkins induced a pop out to end the game and secure the win for the Dons (13-8, 4-0).
Despite heavy rain from the outset, both starting pitchers performed well. San Francisco right-hander Thomas Ponticelli (4-0) went 7.0 innings and struck out eight batters to keep his perfect record intact this season. He surrendered just two hits, three walks and one earned run.
Pilot freshman righty Eli Morse (2-3) went 6.2 innings and allowed just three earned runs with a season-high nine strikeouts. Morse has now struck out seven or more batters in four of his last five starts.
San Francisco opened the scoring on a Riley Helland two-out, two-run single to left field in the third inning plating Nick Yovetich and Jack Winkler for a 2-0 lead. Winkler hit a one-out double to place runners on second and third, but Morse picked up a big strikeout to the leadoff hitter, Jonathan Allen, on three pitches before Helland came through.
Ponticelli walked the first two Pilots and then retired the next 13 batters before Chad Stevens reached on an error in the fifth. Beau Brundage then led off the bottom of the sixth with a line drive single back up the middle for Portland's first base hit. Ryan Kim belted a line drive double to the base of the wall in right field advancing Brundage to third. A sacrifice fly from Daniel Lopez scored Brundage and moved Kim to third. Cody Hawken was then hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners, but Ponticelli forced a foul out and strikeout to limit the damage.
San Francisco answered in the top of the seventh with a leadoff solo home run by RJ Cordeiro, his first home run of the season. A costly error extended the inning and center fielder Jonathan Allen made the Pilots pay with a two-out RBI single to make it a 4-1 lead.
The Dons added a pair of much-needed insurance runs in the eighth against the Portland bullpen, one earned and the other unearned for a 6-1 margin.
San Francisco lifted Ponticelli after seven and turned the ball over to their closer, Jenkins. The senior entered the game having not allowed a run in 17.1 innings of relief work this season. Portland instantly jumped on Jenkins as Kim worked a leadoff walk followed by consecutive singles from Daniel Lopez and Cody Hawken to load the bases with nobody out.
Jace Mckinney followed with an infield single to first base to make it 6-2 and then Dutton Elske bounced an RBI groundout to shortstop for another run. Jenkins escaped the jam with an inning-ending double play.
After the Pilot bullpen held San Francisco scoreless in the ninth, Matt Kelly got the Pilots going with a leadoff single in the bottom of the frame. Brundage was hit by a pitch with one out and both runners advanced on a passed ball. Kim walked and Kelly scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-4 with still just one out.
Jenkins retired Lopez on a flyout to right and then Kim was aggressive on the basepaths and stole second to put Portland's tying run in scoring position. Cody Hawken had a couple of good swings in the final at bat before lifting a 2-2 pitch into shallow center field to end the game.
The Dons collected 11 hits, committed one error and left five runners on base. Portland had six hits, two errors and stranded 10 runners. Kim finished 1-for-2 with a double and three walks, while Cordeiro paced the Dons with three hits and a pair of runs.
The series continues Saturday at Joe Etzel Field with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. and will conclude on Sunday with a noon start. Both games will be aired live on TheW.tv.
