University of San Francisco Athletics

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Game No. 18
San Francisco Dons (8-9, 0-3 WCC) at San Jose State Spartans (6-15, 3-6 MWC)
Date: Mar. 18, 6 p.m.
Location: Municipal Stadium (San Jose, Calif.)
Broadcast: USFDons.com/LIVE (Play-by-Play: Pat Olson)
 
Game Nos. 19-21
San Francisco Dons vs. BYU Cougars (7-14, 0-3 WCC)
Date: Mar. 20, 3 p.m.; Mar. 21, 3 p.m.; Mar. 22, 12 p.m.
Location: Benedetti Diamond (Thursday-Friday), AT&T Park (Saturday)
Broadcast: USFDons.com/LIVE (Play-by-Play: Max Harris (Thu.-Fri.), Pat Olson (Sat.))

2014 SCHEDULE
2014 ROSTER
 
GAME NOTES – SAN JOSE STATE-BYU
TICKETS
 
SAN FRANCISCO—After a rough weekend to open up West Coast Conference play, the Dons will look to dust themselves off and rebound this week against San Jose State and BYU.
 
San Francisco (8-9) dropped all three games against Gonzaga to open conference play this past weekend and were sloppy in the process. The team committed six errors against the Bulldogs after only committing 14 (one error per game) through the first month of play.
 
Probable starters:
Tuesday: Matt Narahara (0-2, 6.75 ERA)
Thursday: Abe Bobb (2-2, 4.76)
Friday: Christian Cecilio (2-3, 3.19)
Saturday: Grant Goodman (1-2, 3.92)
 
The Dons lost the three games by a total of five runs and they will need to find a way to rebound from this setback. USF hit .200 with runners in scoring position against Gonzaga and had 20 at bats in such situations, only half the number of Gonzaga.
 
However, some of the Dons have thrived in such situations. Bradley Zimmer and Derek Atkinson are hitting a combined .421 (16-for-38) with runners in scoring position and are tied for the team lead in RBI with 14.
 
Zimmer went 6-for-11 in the series with a home run, five runs scored and three stolen bases.
 
DANTE BENEDETTI CLASSIC
The Dante Benedetti Foundation will be hosting its ninth annual Dante Benedetti Baseball Classic at AT&T Park on Saturday at 12 p.m. The Dons have participated in each of the events named after the legendary USF head coach, who helped keep the baseball program alive during his tenure (1962-80). Tickets for this game are now unavailable through the Benedetti website but will be available at the AT&T Park gate.
 
BENEDETTI CLASSIC TICKET INFORMATION
 
GET 'EM TO THE SIXTH
The Dons are 7-0 in games where they either lead or are tied going into the sixth inning this season. This is primarily due to the performance of the bullpen. The Dons have gone to Ben Graff, Mack Meyer, Brock Larson and Houston Hibberd most often and the four have combined to throw 41.1 innings and carry an ERA of 1.95. Hibberd has been near untouchable with a 1.04 ERA in 17.1 innings.
 
GRANT'S GOOD-IES
Grant Goodman made his first weekend start last Sunday against Tulane and found a rhythm early and maintained it against the Green Wave. He threw eight shutout innings, striking out seven and gave up two hits. It was the first win of his career.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
The Dons played at Benedetti Diamond for only the second and third times all season when they hosted the double header against Sacramento State. Last weekend began a stretch where the Dons will play 11 of the next 12 games at home. This includes conference matchups with Gonzaga, BYU and San Diego along with a nonconference visit from one of the Dons' NCAA Regional opponents last season, Oregon.
 
PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
Bradley Zimmer was named to three All-America first teams in the preseason, including the Louisville Slugger and Baseball America teams. The junior hit .320 with seven home runs and 37 RBI last season and went onto play for the USA National Collegiate Team and Cotuit Keetleers of the Cape Cod League over the summer.
 
GIARRATANO LEGACY
Head coach Nino Giarratano enters his 16th season at the helm of the USF baseball team and is the winningest coach in the program's history with 440. He is also the third winningest coach in WCC history, behind John Cunningham (USD, 524) and current San Diego coach Rich Hill (657). With the win over Kansas State on Feb. 18, Giarratano passed Santa Clara's John Oldman for third on that list (433).
 
ABOUT SAN JOSE STATE
The Spartans have had trouble with continuity in the rotation. Seven different pitchers have started games for San Jose State and the team holds a 5.25 team ERA after 21 games. One of the bright spots has been Kalei Contrades, who has made seven appearances and six of them out of the bullpen. He has a 1.11 ERA in 24.1 innings. This is another team, like Gonzaga, who will likely try to manufacture runs. The team is slugging .291 for the season.
 
ABOUT BYU
The Cougars have lost six straight entering the week and are coming off being swept at home by San Diego. It wasn't long ago that BYU was celebrating a no-hitter. Kolton Mahoney threw a no-hitter two weeks ago against Nicholls State, the seventh in BYU history. This weekend, he lasted 1.1 innings and gave up nine runs to San Diego. Kelton Caldwell has been their most dangerous hitter. He has a team-high 16 RBI with seven extra base hits on the young season.