Mitchell Lobetos
Staff Writer

For the first time this season, San Francisco was able to say that we had an unbeaten week. The men’s basketball team went up against San Jose State University (12-27) for a one-gamer and West Coast Conference rival University of San Diego (20-23, 7-11 WCC) for a three-game set, all four games were at home.

In the final game of a three-game set against USD, the Dons cruised to an 8-2 victory. A 118 pitch, five-strikeout, two-run complete game by starting pitcher James Kannenberg highlighted the day. Kannenberg had plenty of offense to work with. The team was in perfect rhythm up and down the order. Every starting player got a hit except for two, Matt Sinatro and Ryan Matranga. Even so they had productive at bats; Sinatro walked twice and reached home once and Matranga drove in two runs even without recording a hit. Allen Smoot and Bruce Harrison also had two runs batted in. Though not an offensive explosion, it was definitely a game of productivity.

Game two of the set was a bit more of a grind for San Francisco. The Torreros hit a solo homerun in the first to set the tone of the game but San Francisco quickly answered back in the home half of the inning by manufacturing three runs of their own. By the fourth inning USF padded their lead from 3-1 to 6-1. In the sixth inning San Diego found a little momentum and singled and doubled their way to a 6-6 tie. Starting pitcher Thomas Ponticelli’s struggled through the sixth inning which ended up being his last of the game. In the eighth inning, the Dons were able to muster up a seventh and deciding run with three straight singles by Blake Valley, Sinatro and Nico Giarratano. Mack Meyer came out in the ninth to complete the four-out save.

The first game against USD was a rampage. San Francisco came out with bats on fire. The hits were coming as if they were swinging at a basketball coming towards them. Every starting player that played the entire game either had a multi-hit game or drove in multiple runs except for Smoot. Smoot still had one run, a walk and crossed home both times he got on base. After six innings of play the Dons held a commanding 7-0 lead and after eight innings looked up to a savage 13-1 lead. By game’s end USF and USD finished with a score of 13-3. Starter Anthony Shew earned the win after 7.1 innings of five-hit, eight-strikeout quality work.

In USF’s first game of the week against SJSU, San Francisco kept pitchers on short leashes to keep them rested. The Don’s used seven pitcher’s, none of whom even went 3.0 innings. Giarratano, Smoot and Brady Bate had two, three and two runs respectively. By the end of the third inning USF was up 4-2 and USD scored one more run in the eighth inning. The Dons took the game with a 4-3 victory.

With a current five-game win streak, San Francisco looks to roll with momentum looking ahead to a three-game set against St. Mary’s starting Friday, April 29th in Moraga, CA.

Photo courtesy of Dons Atheltics