SAN FRANCISCO (Interstat) — Garret Plata pitched six hitless innings and the Pacific Tigers defeated the San Francisco Dons 8-2 on Sunday evening at Dante Benedetti Diamond at Max Ulrich Field.

Plata struck out five and did not allow a baserunner, facing the minimum 18 batters over his six-inning stint. The right-hander retired the first 12 Dons in order before a leadoff single by JA Lewis in the third inning was erased on a caught stealing. Plata then set down the next nine batters, finishing with his second consecutive scoreless outing of at least six innings. On April 19 against Santa Clara, he allowed two hits and struck out six in a 7-1 victory.

Pacific, which improved to 17-23 overall, grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Brendan O’Su singled and advanced to second on a groundout, then scored on a double down the right-field line by Jake Tandy. The Tigers added three unearned runs in the second inning. Diego Davis walked, stole second and scored on a single by O’Su that was thrown away by the center fielder. Robert Orr doubled to right center, driving in O’Su. Orr later scored on a fielder’s choice.

The Tigers broke the game open in the fifth inning when Grant MacArthur hit a solo home run to left field, his first of the season. In the seventh, Braeden Schnabel delivered a two-run homer to right center, scoring Tandy, who had walked. Pacific batted around in the eighth inning, scoring four runs on five hits. O’Su singled, Orr doubled and Tandy singled up the middle to drive in both runners. Tandy finished 2 for 3 with three runs batted in. Orr went 3 for 5 with an RBI.

San Francisco starter Quentin Pohorski took the loss, allowing three earned runs on three hits over 4 1/3 innings. He struck out five but walked three and hit a batter. The Dons, now 19-21, scored their only runs in the bottom of the eighth. Eddison Esquivel hit a two-run homer to right center, scoring Nystrom, who had walked. Esquivel went 2 for 3 with a home run and two RBIs. The Dons loaded the bases in the ninth with one out, but Carson Revay induced a fielder’s choice groundout to end the game.

Connor Raridan pitched 2 2/3 innings of relief for Pacific, allowing two earned runs on no hits with four strikeouts and two walks. Alex Gomez tossed a scoreless ninth for San Francisco, striking out one.

The Tigers finished with 12 hits. San Francisco had eight hits, including two singles from JA Lewis and two singles from Nystrom. Pacific’s defense turned no double plays, but Plata’s dominance set the tone.

Pacific snapped a one-game losing streak after falling 5-3 to San Francisco on Saturday. The Tigers had won the series opener 10-5 on Friday. The victory gave Pacific a series win over the Dons, who had won three of their previous five games.

Sunday’s game was the rubber match of the three-game series. Pacific returns home Tuesday to face Cal State Bakersfield. San Francisco hosts San Jose State on Tuesday.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Pacific 5, San Francisco 2. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Dons a 65.70 percent probability to win entering the contest.