THIS WEEKEND
Games #7-9
USF (0-6) vs. Hawai'i (2-4)    
Louis Guisto Field, Moraga Calif. 

Friday, Feb. 26  10 a.m.  
USF: RHP Anthony Shew (0-0, 0.00)   UH: RHP Brendan Hornung (0-2, 3.18)
Saturday, Feb. 27  2 p.m. 
USF: LHP Chase Gardner (0-0, 6.35)  UH: RHP Kyle Von Ruden (1-0, 4.91)
Sunday, Feb. 28  1 p.m. 
USF: RHP Grant Goodman (0-1, 6.75)  UH: LHP Alex Hatch (0-1, 10.80)

Coverage: Live stats | Audio play-by-play by Joe Castellano via USFDons.com

QUICK HITS
• This weekend will be USF's first "home" series - it's being played at Saint Mary's Louis Guisto Field due to ongoing construction on the new Benedetti Diamond
• USF suffered an 8-4 loss to Utah Valley on Wednesday evening... Mack Meyer (0-1) took the loss in relief for the Dons
• Allowed 16 hits to UVU on Wednesday - the second-highest total this season
• Used a season-high six pitchers against Utah Valley
• 1B Ross Puskarich and RF Brady Bate each connected for home runs in the bottom of the second vs. UVU - it was the first home run of the season for both and the first time this year USF had a multi-HR inning
• OF Brady Bate (.385, 5-for-13, 2B, HR, RBI) leads the Dons at the plate coming into the weekend
• SS Nico Giarratano has hit safely in the past five games... hitting .304 (7-for-23, 3 RBI, 2 R) over that span
• Had four newcomers in the Opening Day starting lineup - 3B Dan James, 2B Riley Helland, RF Brady Bate and starting RHP Thomas Ponticelli
• Went 23-31 overall in 2015 and 15-12 in WCC play, finishing in 5th place 
• Was 9-10 at home last year, 13-20 on the road and 1-1 in neutral contests
• Ranked 7th in the WCC last year in team batting average (.267) and 5th in team ERA (4.33)
• Were picked to finish 8th in the 2016 WCC preseason poll
• 2015 second-team All-WCC senior RHP Anthony Shew (7-5, 3.64) is the only returning All-WCC performer
• Junior catcher Dominic Miroglio was ranked No. 225 on D1Baseball.com's top-300 MLB Prospects for the 2016 draft
• Miroglio (.340, 3 HR, 38 RBI) is the Dons' leading returning hitter
• Over his 18-year career on the Hilltop, Nino Giarratano has the most wins in USF history (480)...he has averaged 27 wins per season during his tenure...his 2006 squad won 39 games, the most in program history 
 

DOUBLE DUTY: Freshmen Riley Helland and Matt Warkentin have already played both ways for USF this season. Helland started two games at second base during the opening weekend at UC Santa Barbara - going 2-for-8 with two runs scored at the plate - and has thrown 2.0 innings (0-0, 9.00) following his most recent appearance in relief against Utah Valley on Wednesday. Warkentin made appearances off the bench in right field and first base at UCSB, then came in to throw 2.1 innings of shutout relief at No. 12 Cal in his USF pitching debut. 

SIDE-BY-SIDE: The Dons come into the weekend with a .241 team batting average, compared with a .341 average of their opponents. On the mound, USF has a 6.98 ERA versus the 3.50 team ERA of its opponents. 

WITH RISP: As a team, the Dons are hitting .245 (13-for-53)  with runners in scoring position this season. Their opponents are hitting at a .391 (27-for-69) clip in those situations. OF Blake Valley leads the team with a .600 (4-for-6) average with RISP so far. 

SOMETIMES YOU WIN, SOMETIMES YOU LOSE: USF was plagued by inconsistency in 2015 - they opened the season by losing 10 games in a row, before winning 11 of 12 between Apr. 2-19, but finished the year by losing 11 of their last 12. The Dons were 14-4 in WCC action following a three-game sweep of eventual regular season champion San Diego on Apr. 19, but proceeded to get swept in their final three WCC series against BYU, Pepperdine and LMU.  

ROAD WARRIORS: Coming into the season, the Dons are 70-82 on the road over the last five seasons. Since 2006, USF has only had one season (2014) when they played more home games than road contests, while opening their season at home just once during that span (2013). Over the last 10 years, the only season-opening road victory USF has posted came in 2007 with a 6-2 win over Fresno State.

STINGY STAFF: The USF pitching staff ranked third in the WCC with team ERA of 3.53 in 2015. Don pitchers proved to be the most durable, leading the conference with six complete games on the year, including four shutouts. The Dons also helped their cause by not allowing many free passes as they led the WCC with only 70 walks in 2015.   

ACE OF THE STAFF: Senior RHP Anthony Shew is USF's only returning all-conference selection from last year after taking home second-team honors. In his first year on the Hilltop in 2015, he led the team in wins (7), was third in ERA (3.64) and second in innings pitched (94.0).  

WHO'S WHO:  USF welcomes a total of 17 newcomers to this year's squad. That group is made up of 10 freshmen and 7 transfers. 

FLASHING LEATHER: The Dons ranked fourth in the WCC in fielding percentage (.971) in 2015. 

DONS SIGN SIX IN EARLY PERIOD: Six student-athletes signed NLIs to play at USF during the early signing period in November - RHP Jon Mullis (Milton, GA / Cambridge HS), OF Tyler Villaroman (San Mateo, Calif. / Serra HS), C Kevin Hwang (Mission Viejo, Calif. / Capistrano Valley HS), RHP Brendan Jenkins (Pleasanton, Calif. / Cuesta College), INF Matt Campos (Honolulu, HI / Iolani HS) and LHP Grant Young (Lafayette, Calif. / Acalanes HS).

BENEDETTI CLASSIC TRADITION: Since 2006, the Dons have hosted a regular season game at AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, in the annual Dante Benedetti Classic. Benedetti played for the Dons from 1937-1940 before becoming a legendary fixture on the Hilltop in reviving and building the USF baseball program as the Dons' head coach from 1962-1980. Benedetti passed away on Nov. 16, 2005. This year's game will be played on Thursday, Mar. 24 when the Dons host Pacific in the first game of a three-game WCC set.  

WCC PRESEASON POLL: San Diego was picked to win the WCC this year in the annual preseason poll, voted on by the WCC's 10 coaches. The Toreros received 6 first-place votes, followed by Pepperdine (3) and LMU (1). Saint Mary's, BYU and Gonzaga slotted in at 4th, 5th and 6th, respectively. Santa Clara, San Francisco, Pacific and Portland rounded out the rest of the preseason predictions.