May 13, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

DONS CLOSE OUT 2008 HOSTING DALLAS BAPTIST: USF (31-23, 12-9 WCC) will close out the 2008 regular season with a three game non-conference match up with Dallas Baptist (33-16). Games will be played Thursday through Saturday, instead of the usual Friday through Sunday. Thursday's and Friday's games are set to begin at 3:00 PM. Saturday's game will start at 1:00 PM.

MITCHELL BIALSOKY NAMED WEST COAST CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR MAY 5-11: Senior first baseman/right-handed pitcher Mitchell Bialosky played a big part in leading the Dons to wins over top 10 opponents Stanford and San Diego. Bialosky started the week by driving in four runs in USF's 13-9 win over No. 6 Stanford. The senior then went 9-for-15 with four RBI and four runs scored in helping the Dons take 2-of-3 from No. 8 San Diego. Bialosky also went 1-0 on the mound, earning the win in the Dons' 6-3 victory over the Toreros on Saturday.

SCOUTING REPORT - WEEK 13

GAME #55 - DALLAS BAPTIST PATRIOTS (33-16)

SCOUTING DALLAS BAPTIST: The Patriots look to improve on their successful year in 2007, when they try to qualify for their first ever post season in NCAA Division I Baseball and improve upon their 30-26 record last season. They've done their job so far, going into their Tuesday double header with Texas Tech at 33-16 and sitting on the bubble of a Regional selection. Senior outfielder Nick Santos is leading Patriots batters at .377 (63-167) with nine doubles, five homeruns, 31 RBI, and 37 runs scored. On the mound, Freshman right-hander Chris Haney is 6-4, 2.70 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 40.0 inning pitched. Head Coach Dan Heefner is in his first year as the Patriots skipper.

TEAM COMPARISONS - 2008 SEASON STATS
Team	W-L	BA	RUNS	HITS	HR	RBI	BB 	ERA   SO	OBA
USF 	31-23	.300 	343 	573 	30	315 	177     4.76  369 	.277
DBU	33-16	.327	385	576	58	354	184	4.45  344	.276

LAST MEETINGS: This is the first meeting between these two teams

BASEBALL BRIEFS:

- San Francisco has reached the 30-win mark for just the sixth time since 1968 with 31 wins and counting this season. In their record breaking 2006 season, the Dons won a Program high 39 games, and in 2005 earned 38 victories. They earned two 30+ win seasons in the 90's, with 34 in 1998 and 30 in 1996, and in 1971 USF won 32 games.

- Benedetti Diamond has been an extremely successful home ballpark for USF this season, with the Dons going an impressive 17-4 on the Hilltop. At home, the Dons bat .338 (252-for-746) with 60 doubles, six triples, 14 homeruns, 151 RBI, and 165 runs scored. The pitchers have a 3.65 ERA compared with opponents 6.94.The hurlers have 171 strikeouts and hold opponents to just .243 batting. The Dons have a little tougher time away from Benedetti, going 13-19, but have played 32 games on the road to just 21 at home.

- After starting the season 8-10, the Dons went on an absolute tear, winning 13 of their next 14 games including streaks of seven (3/18-3/28) and six (3/30-4/8) wins.

- USF has won nine series this season, including an impressive five conference series. The Dons went 2-0 over Sacramento State, and UC Davis, 2-1 against UNLV, and 4-0 over Fairleigh Dickinson. In conference, USF swept Loyola Marymount 3-0, and took two wins against Saint Mary's, Portland, Gonzaga, and then No. 8 San Diego.

- In their last ten games, the Dons are 6-4 and have dominated opponents offensively. Batting .327 (122-for-373), USF had 21 doubles, three triples, 11 homeruns, 64 RBI and 74 runs scored. The 11 homeruns are nearly half of the Dons 30 total four-baggers. Pitchers are holding opponents to .295 batting and have 78 strikeouts.

- With 122 team doubles, the Dons are just five off the mark of 127 set in 2000. Pitchers are also just 20 strikeouts away from the 389 mark set in 2002, and met in 2004. With 369 total K's and three games left, hurlers have a chance to reach the team high.

- Newcomers are making a huge impact for USF this season. Sophomore catcher Ryan Lipkin and freshman outfielder Connor Bernatz have been battling it out for the batting lead, with Lipkin currently taking the top spot with a .380 (62-for-163). Bernatz is second at .353 (65-for-184). Lipkin has added nine doubles, two homeruns, 20 RBI and 33 runs scored while Bernatz is one of the better freshmen in the WCC, with 10 doubles, a triple, two homeruns, 26 RBI and 27 runs scored. Senior outfielder Kyle Morgan leads the Dons with 48 RBI and is third with 15 doubles. The Long Beach State transfer has a triple and five homeruns to his credit. Freshman left-hander Matt Lujan leads all Dons hurlers with a 7-2 record, 3.31 ERA. Lujan has struck out 44 opponents and held them to .262 batting in 73.1 innings.

- San Francisco has played 13 games against ranked opponents this season, including nine against Top-10 teams. Overall, USF is 4-9, but is 4-5 against those ranked tenth or higher.

DONS TOP-25 RESULTS
o At No. 20 UC Irvine 4, USF 0 (2/29)
o At No. 20 UC Irvine 4, USF 0 (3/1)
o At No. 20 UC Irvine, 6, USF 0 (3/2)
o At No. 12 California 6, USF 2 (3/11)
o USF 5, No. 7 California 1 (4/1) [Dante Benedetti Classic at AT&T Park]
o At No. 9 Pepperdine 11, USF 2 (4/11)
o At No. 9 Pepperdine 11, USF 10 (4/12)
o At No. 9 Pepperdine 8, USF 5 (4/13)
o At No. 10 Stanford 11, USF 10 (4/16) [11 innings]
o At USF 13, No. 6 Stanford 9 (5/6)
o No. 8 San Diego 4, at USF 2 (5/9)
o At USF 6, No. 8 San Diego 3 (5/10)
o At USF 14, No. 8 San Diego 3 (5/11)

INDIVIDUAL NOTES:

- Senior second baseman Joey Railey is steadily climbing the record books in career hits and walks. With 74 hits this season, Railey has 235 for his career, one away from tying Arnie Sambel (1987-90) for fourth place. Armand Gaerlan (2001-04/239) is just four away at third place. In walks, Railey has a team leading 32 this season, and 104 in his career, good enough for fourth place. The Pittsburg, CA native is just six behind Ted Langowski (1988-91/110). In single season charts, Railey is currently tied with Tony Hurtado (1998) and Mitchell Bialosky (2008) for 14th, and needs just three hits in his last three games to break into the top ten for the second time. Railey had 81 hits (5th) in 2006. For the season, Railey is batting .329 with a team leading 16 doubles, four homeruns, 36 RBI, 35 runs scored, and eight stolen bases.

- Senior first baseman/RHP Mitchell Bialosky is also close to breaking into the top 10 in season hits with 74. He currently sits 11th in career totals with 191 and needs just two base knocks to overtake Royce Fukuroku (2002-05/192) for 10th place. He also sits 11th with 34 doubles and needs just one to tie Stefan Gartrell (2003-06) and Luke Sommer (2005-07) for tenth. With 18 career homeruns, seven of which have come in 2008, Bialosky is tied for ninth with Brad Marshall (1996-97) and needs one to tie Peter Quittner (1996-97) for eighth. For the season, Bialosky is batting .339 with 37 RBI and 39 runs scored. On the mound, Bialosky is 5-5, 4.28 ERA with five saves, 49 strikeouts and just 11 walks in 61.0 innings. The Yorba Linda, CA native is impressive in relief outings, going 5-1, 1.71 ERA with five saves in 15 appearances. In 26.1 innings, Bialosky has 26 strikeouts to just six walks, and hold opponents to .235 batting.

- Junior left-hander Evan Fredrickson is closing in on 100 strikeouts in his first season as a Don. The Virginia Tech transfer has 98 K's, good enough for sixth place on the Dons single season chart, and is just one away from Dana Hendershott (1970/99) in fifth. With one start remaining on the season, he has a chance to break into the top four, besting Jim Ross' 102 from the 1976 season.