SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. --- The San Francisco Dons broke a scoreless tie with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning before adding two more to edge the Portland Pilots 4-0 in the opener of a three-game West Coast Conference series played on Thursday afternoon at Benedetti Diamond. The Pilots did get a runner to third base in the top of the eighth and left two stranded in the ninth as the Dons avoided a late rally.
Portland (7-26-1, 3-10 WCC) starter Tate Budnick cruised through the first four innings, allowing just two hits. The righty did run into a little trouble in the fifth, when the Dons (17-17, 4-9 WCC) got on the scoreboard with an RBI triple from Harrison Bruce and a run-scoring double by Nico Giarratano.