Stockton, Calif. - For the second time in the last three games, the Tigers came up with the clutch hit they needed to in order to come away with a win in extra innings as Pacific walked off with a 3-2 victory in 10 innings over San Francisco (USF) on Saturday, March 21 at Klein Family Field. The win for Pacific (3-17, 2-3 WCC) evened the series against the Dons (9-14, 3-2 WCC) as both games on the weekend have been decided by just one run.

With a runner on second and a chance to win the game for Pacific, senior Tyler Sullivan did not waste his opportunity as the fourth-year leader delivered in the clutch with a game-winning single to right center that ended the 2-2 tie in the bottom of the 10th. Behind in the count, Sullivan was able to lace a 1-2 pitch from San Francisco's Logan West (0-1) onto the outfield grass to bring home pinch-runner Jimmy Boras from second for the game winning strike. West was making his second appearance of the weekend against the Tigers after earning the save on Friday night while Boras had entered to run after freshman Jed Sprague picked up an infield single in the 5/6 hole to start the inning. Boras' run was his second-straight game-winning score as he also came in as a pinch runner in the Pacific's 2-1 win in 12 innings a week prior at Saint Mary's.

Sullivan's clutch hitting was made possible due to a career-pitching performance out of sophomore Will Lydon as the second-year hurler pitched Pacific into the ninth inning before giving way to the Tigers' bullpen. For 8.1 IP, Lydon kept the Dons' hitters off balance as he scattered just four hits and gave up two runs to come up with a high-quality start despite picking up the no-decision in the scorebook. Unfortunately for Lydon and his quest for the W, he was matched pitch-for-pitch by USF's Christian Cecilio who went 8.2 IP while giving up six hits and two runs as well.

With the two starters battling it out on the bump in search of the win, the early runs given up by each pitcher were merely afterthoughts by the time the game came to its conclusion. Lydon gave up the first run of the game in the top of the first inning as he hit the opening batter for the Dons before they were able to turn it into a score with a two-out single by Brendan Hendriks. After Lydon gave up a run, Cecilio relinquished his first run of the day as Pacific turned a leadoff double by Sullivan into a single run in the bottom half of the inning. Pacific had a chance to bust the game open in the inning as the Tigers loaded the bases with no outs, but a double play and a strike out helped Cecilio get out of the jam relatively unscathed.

After trading runs in the first, the Dons took the lead with a leadoff solo home run in the top of the second when Ross Puskarich sent the first pitch of the inning from Lydon over the left field wall. Not to be outdone, the Tigers answered with their own solo home run to left just an inning later when junior Gio Brusa belted an 0-2 Cecilio mistake over the wall for his fourth home run of the year.

The home run proved to be the last score for either team until Pacific's game-winning run in the 10th as both Lydon and Cecilio bunkered down for the long haul. With little threats throughout the remainder of paid baseball, the two starters turned the game over to the bullpen for the final inning and for the free innings. For Lydon, he gave the game over to sophomore Vince Arobio (1-0) as the Tigers' closer finished off the masterpiece for his first win of the season. Arobio's day was not without its own drama as he gave up a leadoff single in the top of the 10th before shutting down the potential go-ahead rally while stranding the Dons' runner at third. 

In total, the Tigers saw Sullivan and senior Dallas Correa come up with a pair of hits each to lead the way. Correa was also in the middle of the game-winning fun in the 10th as the senior catcher sacrificed himself to push Boras to second to set up Sullivan's single. 

The Tigers will go for their first series victory of the 2015 season on Sunday as the two teams meet for the final time at Klein Family Field at 1:00 pm.