SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. --- After the Portland Pilots took a 4-0 lead, the San Francisco Dons scored five unanswered runs, including three in the bottom of the eighth inning, to clinch the West Coast Conference three-game series with a 5-4 win on Sunday afternoon at Benedetti Diamond. Portland freshman Tracye Tammaro left the yard with a home run for the fourth straight game.
 
Tammaro's homer came in the top of the third inning and it broke a scoreless tie. With Henry Cheney on first base, Tammaro belted one over the wall in left field, handing the Pilots (15-6, 1-2 WCC) a 2-0 lead.
 
Portland's lead would grow as all four of their runs happened in the third inning. Dutton Elske followed Tammaro's long fly with a single before eventually scoring, and Daniel Lopez made it a 4-0 game with an RBI double before the frame was done.
 
But that's all the offense the Pilots could produce as the Dons (12-7, 2-1 WCC) scored one in the bottom of the fourth and another in the sixth inning to chip away at the deficit. USF then surged ahead in the bottom of the eighth inning, with Jacob Munoz providing the go-ahead, two-run single. Riley Helland previously hit a solo home run in the frame.
 
The Pilots did get a runner on base in the top of the ninth when Tammaro drew a walk, but the pinch runner Travis Turney was stranded at second after stealing the base.
 
The loss goes to Portland reliever Connor Knutson (1-1), who the Pilots turned to in the bottom of the sixth inning. He allowed three runs, his first of the season, on four hits. Starter Chris Clements worked 5.2 innings, holding the Dons to two runs on five hits, while fanning five.
 
San Francisco reliever Julian Washburn (5-0) wins his fifth of the year, and Joey Steele recorded the final two outs to record his fifth save.
 
Next up for the Pilots is a trip to Provo, Utah, for a three-game WCC series with the BYU Cougars. Thursday's opener is set to begin at 5 p.m. (Pacific).