Game No. 52-54
San Francisco Dons (23-28, 15-9 WCC) vs. Loyola Marymount (28-20-1, 13-11 WCC)
May 15-17 | 3 .m., 1 p.m., 1 p.m.
Benedetti Diamond | San Francisco, Calif.
LIVE STATS | VIDEO
 
WIN AND WE'RE WIN
The Dons come into the weekend at 15-9 and are tied with Pepperdine for second in the West Coast Conference and need only one win to secure a spot in the WCC Championship tournament. USF hosts Loyola Marymount (13-11) for three beginning on Friday.
 
SIX TEAMS, THREE SPOTS
With only one weekend of conference play remaining, there are six teams vying for the final three spots in the West Coast Conference Championships in Stockton, Calif. on May 21. Pepperdine, San Francisco, and BYU currently hold the final three spots but Gonzaga, Santa Clara, and Loyola Marymount are in striking distance with only three games to go. One win for Pepperdine and San Francisco clinches berths into the tournament and a series win over Santa Clara does the same for BYU.
 
SENIOR DAY
The Dons will host their Senior Day on Sunday, May 17. It will be the final home game for 12 seniors who have been critical pieces of the 2015 squad. The list consists of Christian Cecilio, Brendan Hendriks, Derek Atkinson, Matt Narahara, Sheldon Lee, Logan West, Michael Eaton, Justin McCullough, Connor Hofmann, Zack McCoy, Anthony Buonopane, and Peter Danna.
 
ACES WILD
Anthony Shew and Christian Cecilio have been one of the better rotation pairs on the West Coast. The two have combined for 12 wins, 182.2 innings, and are all over the top ranks in the WCC. Cecilio is first in complete games (4), strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.05), and innings pitched (95.2). Shew is second in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.94), third in innings pitched (87.0), and second in victories (7).
 
MIROGLIO ON JOHNNY BENCH WATCH LIST
Sophomore catcher Dominic Miroglio has been a difference maker on offense and defense for the Dons this season and was honored by being named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List. The Johnny Bench Award is given to the best Division I catcher in the nation. Miroglio is hitting .340 with three home runs, 36 RBI (second in the WCC). He leads all WCC catchers in batting average and RBI.
 
EATON NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Michael Eaton was instrumental in the three-game sweep of San Diego and helped the Dons to an overall 4-1 record during that week. His .444 average with four doubles and six RBI earned him West Coast Conference Rawlings Player of the Week honors on Apr. 20. The redshirt junior is the first Dons player to win the award since Bradley Zimmer on Mar. 3, 2014.
 
#DonsOTR
San Francisco has a grueling schedule that will have the team away from home for 36 of the team's 55 games, including a stretch of 12 straight and 19 of 23 to start the season. It will include trips to Texas Tech, New Mexico, Oregon, and Gonzaga.
 
TOUGH NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
The Dons may have one of the tougher non-conference schedules in the country. They play eight games against teams that are ranked in the top 35 in the country (Texas Tech, Oregon, Stanford), according to the NCBWA, and an additional five games against teams receiving votes. All the games against ranked teams will also be on the road.
 
GIARRATANO MOVING UP THE CHARTS
Head coach Nino Giarratano enters his 17th season at USF and has accumulated 480 wins over that time, which is the most in school history and is the third most in West Coast Conference history. He sits behind only John Cunningham (524, San Diego) and current San Diego and former USF coach Rich Hill (691).