May 6, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

DONS PLAY FIVE GAMES IN SIX DAYS: USF (28-21, 10-8 WCC) added a Wednesday game, and will yet again play five times in six days. Opening up the week, the Dons will host No. 6 Stanford (27-15-2, 10-5 Pac-10) on Tuesday at 3:00 PM. On Wednesday, USF will meet Saint Mary's (22-22-1, 5-10 WCC) in a non-conference match up, which was added to the schedule just last week. First pitch is set for 3:00 PM. In conference play, USF hosts No. 7 San Diego (37-13, 15-3 WCC) for three this weekend. Friday's game will begin at 3:00 PM with Saturday's and Sunday's set for 1:00 PM.

NEXT UP FOR THE DONS: USF closes out the 2008 season with a home series against Dallas Baptist University next weekend. Friday is a 3:00 PM start, Saturday and Sunday are set for 1:00 PM first pitches.

SCOUTING REPORT - WEEK 12

GAME #50 - NO. 6 STANFORD CARDINAL (27-15-2)

SCOUTING STANFORD: Stanford dropped from No. 3 to No. 6 in weekly rankings even though they beat San Jose State twice in a two-game non-conference series over the weekend. Junior Jason Castro leads the team, batting .376 (70-186), with 11 doubles, two triples, 11 homeruns, 70 runs scored, and 48 RBI. On the mound, senior right-hander Erik Davis is 7-1, 3.48 ERA with 69 strikeouts in 67.1 innings. Head coach Mark Marquess is 1263-612-7 after nearly 32 years at Stanford.

TEAM COMPARISONS - 2008 SEASON STATS
Team	W-L	BA	RUNS	HITS	HR	RBI	BB 	ERA   SO	OBA
USF 	28-21	.299 	303 	519 	24	280 	163	4.80  329 	.276
STAN	27-15-2	.304	330	479	49	310	182	4.26  275	.272

LAST MEETINGS: at Stanford 11, USF 10 (11) (4/16/08)

LAST TIME AGAINST THE DONS: San Francisco fell to No. 10 Stanford 11-10 in 11 innings in Wednesday night's non-conference match up at Sunken Diamond. USF had a three run lead going into bottom of the ninth, but the Cardinal scored three in the frame to push the game into extra innings. In the 11th, USF had a runner on second base but couldn't capitalize. In Stanford's frame, two consecutive walks and a huge single to left field would close out the game. Mitchell Bialosky had a great night at the plate, going 4-for-6 with a homerun, a double, two RBI and two runs scored, but he wasn't so lucky on the mound. Pitching in relief, Bialosky earned the loss, allowing two earned runs off three hits, two walks and struck out one in 1.2 innings.

GAME #51 - SAINT MARY'S GAELS (22-22-1)

SCOUTING SAINT MARY'S: Saint Mary's fell three times to a tough Miami team in Florida last weekend. They were outscored 30-9 in the three contests. Currently leading the Gaels at the plate is sophomore utility Kyle Jensen, who is batting .403 (64-159), with 11 doubles, one triple, 12 homeruns, 42 RBI and six stolen bases. On the mound, Sophomore Scott Schneider is 5-4, 5.86 ERA, with 55 strikeouts in 55.1 innings. Head coach Jedd Soto is 103-147-2 in nearly six years in Moraga.

TEAM COMPARISONS - 2008 SEASON STATS
Team	W-L	BA	RUNS	HITS	HR	RBI	BB 	ERA   SO	OBA
USF 	28-21	.299 	303 	519 	24	280 	163	4.80  329 	.276
SMC	22-22-1	.313	281	479	29	262	174	6.05  280	.293

LAST MEETINGS: USF 2, at SMC 0 (3/28/08); at SMC 10, USF 9 (3/29/08); USF 5, at SMC 1 (3/30/08)

LAST TIME AGAINST THE DONS: In a game that can only be considered a pitching and defensive duel, San Francisco came out on top, 2-0 over Saint Mary's in WCC opening play at Luis Guisto Field on Friday afternoon. The Dons earn their seventh straight victory and ruin a very good outing by Gaels junior right-hander Brian Justice, who threw a complete game in the loss. Mitchell Bialosky had a big day in Moraga. Besides batting in the winning run, he also earned the win on the mound. In a relief outing, Bialosky threw the final 5.0 innings, not allowing a run, off five hits, one walk, and struck out four Gaels. The win streak ended on Saturday afternoon as San Francisco fell to Saint Mary's 10-9. Senior left-hander Matt Baugh earned the tough luck no decision after throwing 8.0 innings and giving way to his relief pitchers in the ninth. Baugh gave up seven runs (two earned) off 12 hits, a walk, and struck out five. Freshman righty Sean Burns took the loss, allowing two runs off two hits in less than an inning of work. Joey Railey had a great day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, a homerun, a stolen base, four RBI and three runs scored. Freshman left-hander Matt Lujan threw his second consecutive gem of a pitching performance as he led San Francisco to a 5-1 win over Saint Mary's on Sunday. Lujan gave up one earned run, scattering three hits, walking just two, and striking out two Gaels in a complete game. Kyle Morgan was 2-for-4 with the massive double, three RBI and a stolen base in today's contest. Tavo Hall went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and a stolen base. Connor Bernatz went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored, and Dane Braunecker was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Joey Railey also had two hits and scored a run. Rounding out the Dons 11 base knocks was Ryan Lipkin with a single.

GAME #52-54 - No. 7 San diego toreros (37-13, 15-3 WCC)

SCOUTING SAN DIEGO: The Toreros are locked, loaded and ready to go for the season as they welcome in the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation, have three preseason All-Americans on the roster and arguably the best pitching rotation in the country. The past two seasons have been some of San Diego's best with back-to-back trips to the NCAA post season and the first 40-win season in program history. Highlighting the returners is preseason first-team All-American Brian Matusz (9-2, 2.06 ERA, with 108 strikeouts to just 20 walks, in 79.2 innings). A year ago, Matusz set a new program record for single-season strikeouts with 163, posted a 10-3 record and had an ERA of 2.85. At the plate, sophomore James Meador is batting .372 (64-172), with 14 doubles, two triples, five homeruns, and 48 RBI. Head coach Rich Hill is 346-232-3 in nearly 10 years in San Diego.

TEAM COMPARISONS - 2008 SEASON STATS
Team	W-L	BA	RUNS	HITS	HR	RBI	BB 	ERA   SO	OBA
USF 	28-21	.299 	303 	519 	24	280 	163	4.80  329 	.276
USD	25-18	.304	330	512	36	300	167	3.44  452	.244

LAST MEETINGS: at USD 2, USF 1 (5/4/07); at USD 19, USF 9 (5/5/07); at USD 8, USF 2 (5/6/07)

LAST TIME AGAINST THE DONS: USF got a strong pitching effort from Aaron Poreda, but No. 9 San Diego got a bases loaded, one out single from Jordan Abruzzo to seize a 2-1 victory Friday afternoon. In a match up of two of the league's top left-handers, neither Poreda nor Brian Matusz disappointed. Poreda went the distance, allowing two runs off 10 hits and struck out three and walked three. Matusz went 8.0 innings, allowing one run off seven hits and struck out three and walked a pair. Junior infielder Mitchell Bialosky finished 2-for-4 with an RBI double, while senior designated hitter Chris Bacigalupi went 2-for-3. USF scored nine runs in the fourth inning, but No. 9 San Diego answered with nine in the bottom of the frame and rolled to a 19-9 victory Saturday afternoon. It was a great day to be hitter and a lousy day for pitchers. The two teams combined for 28 runs (all earned) off 34 hits. Chris Bacigalupi (3-for-4, 2b, 3 RBI), Blake Nelson (3-for-5, RBI) and Derek Poppert (3-for-5, 2b, RBI) each collected three hits for the Dons. Joey Railey collected a pair of RBI with a fourth inning single. John Quine suffered the loss, allowing five runs off four hits in 2.0 innings. San Francisco struggled against a strong No. 9 San Diego, falling to the Toreros 8-2. Tommy Peale started for the Dons, allowing all of the Toreros eight runs (all earned) off 12 hits and three walks in 5.0 innings. Junior first baseman Mitchell Bialosky doubled and threw a scoreless inning in the game, striking out one Torero. Junior shortstop Brian Chavez and freshman third baseman Derek Poppert doubled also. Junior second baseman Joey Railey, senior center fielder Jonnie Knoble, senior catcher Jon Norfolk, sophomore left fielder Zach Kim, and senior designated hitter Chris Bacigalupi all singled on the day.

Joey Railey MOVES UP HITS CHART: Senior second baseman Joey Railey is known to get a lot of hits. With 65 on the season, Railey now has 226 for his career, good for fifth place all time. He needs 11 to pass Arnie Sambel (1987-90/236) for fourth place. Also, with 101 career walks, and counting, Railey is fourth all time on the walks chart. He needs 10 more to pass Ted Langowski (1988-91/110) for third place.

Connor Bernatz HOLDS ONTO BATTING LEAD: Freshman outfielder Connor Bernatz remains in the batting lead at .3825 (63-165). Bernatz has ten doubles, one triple, two homeruns, 26 RBI, and three stolen bases. In five games last week, Bernatz batted .474 with nine hits, including five in Sunday's (5/5) game at Gonzaga.

Tavo Hall TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS IN CONFERENCE: Senior shortstop Tavo Hall was playing exceptionally well in West Coast Conference games this season, before suffering an injury in the Gonzaga series. Through 16 games, Hall was batting .320 (16-50) with nine doubles and 14 RBI. Overall, Hall was batting .267 (46-172), with 14 doubles, one homerun, 28 RBI and a team leading 11 stolen bases. His 14 doubles are a season high, and he is just four off his career total of 18.

Mitchell Bialosky DOMINATES BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL: Senior first basmen/RHP Mitchell Bialosky dominated last week, both at the plate and on the mound. In five games, Bialosky batted .360 (9-25), with a double, a homerun and three RBI. On the mound, he made three relief appearances, going 1-0 with two saves, 3.00 ERA, and had eight strikeouts and just one walk in 6.0 innings.

Evan Fredrickson IS STRIKEOUTS LEADER: With 87 strikeouts this season, senior left-hander Evan Fredrickson leads the Dons and is second in conference. Fredrickson has a chance to catch Nick Pereira's 93 strikeouts from the 2005 season.

Matt Lujan OWNING THE MOUND: Freshman left-hander Matt Lujan leads the Dons in both wins (6) and ERA (3.41). In 13 appearances (nine starts), Lujan is holding opponents to a low .267 batting average, and has 37 strikeouts in 66.0 innings.

Chris Escobar EARNS FIRST WCC HIT: Freshman infielder Christ Escobar earned his first and second career hits during conference play in Sunday's 5-1 victory over Portland at Benedetti Diamond (4/27). When given playing chances this season, Escobar has proven reliable. In 17 games (four starts), Escobar is batting .278 (5-18) with three walks, and two runs scored.

Zach Kim DOUBLES AND SCORES:Junior outfielder Zach Kim is third on the team with 13 doubles, four of which came in five games two weeks ago. Kim leads the Dons with 36 runs scored.

MORGAN LEADS IN RBI AND DOUBLES: Senior right-fielder Kyle Morgan leads USF with 42 RBI and 15 doubles. He is second with four homeruns in 49 games, and earned his first triple in the 9-5 win over LMU (4/4).

DONS DOUBLE UP: USF has smacked 101 doubles this season, tying their total from 2005. The Dons had 107 in 2004, easily beatable this season. Also possibly reachable is the 127 doubles the Dons hit in 2000.

HOME SWEET HOME: USF typically plays well at Benedetti Diamond, and after losing its 2008 home opener 8-6 to San Jose State on March 4th, the Dons won 12 straight home games before falling to Portland 5-2 on April 26. But USF bounced back and took a 5-1 victory the next day. At Benedetti Diamond (14-2) this year, the Dons are batting .343 with 182 hits (51 doubles, five triples, and eight homeruns), and 111 RBI. Pitchers have a 3.38 ERA with 121 strikeouts and are holding opponents to a .222 batting average.

DONS FINISH APRIL 10-9: USF finished the month of April one game above .500 at 10-9. The Dons took a huge 5-1 win over No. 7 Cal in the Dante Benedetti Classic (4/1), swept Loyola Marymount at home (4/4-4/6), and earned their first victory over San Jose State (4-2 on 4/8) since the 2005 season.