TODAY:
Game #10
USF (1-8) at UC Davis (3-6)
Tuesday, Mar. 1 | 2 p.m.
Pitching Probables
USF: RHP Thomas Ponticelli (0-1, 10.61) | UCD: TBD
Coverage: Live stats
QUICK HITS
• USF lost two out of three to Hawai'i this past weekend
• The Dons got a walk-off single from Ryan Matranga in their 5-4 win over the Rainbow Warriors on Saturday
• Mounted back-to-back three-run ninth-inning comebacks on Saturday and Sunday
• Used a season-high nine pitchers in Sunday's 9-7 loss to Hawai'i
• Had a season-high 11 strikeouts as a pitching staff on Sunday vs. Hawai'i... RHP James Kannenberg's five strikeouts in 4.1 IP in relief are the most in a single game for USF so far
• Tied their season high with 14 hits against Hawai'i on Sunday afternoon
• C Ryan Matranga leads the Dons in hitting (.368) this season... he went 6-for-13 with two doubles, two runs and three RBI in five games this past week
• OF Blake Valley leads the Dons with 8 RBI so far
• 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
SERIES HISTORY: USF is 18-6 against the UC Davis Aggies during Nino Giarratano's tenure (since 1999). The two teams split last year's home and home series with USF winning in Davis, 9-4, and UCD winning at Benedetti Diamond, 1-0.
BRIEF SCOUTING REPORT: The UC Davis Aggies come into Tuesday's game with a 3-6 record. Davis went 2-2 in the Jack Gifford Memorial Tournament at Santa Clara this past weekend, posting wins over Santa Clara and Utah Valley, while suffering losses to Utah Valley and St. Joseph's.
COMING UP CLUTCH: SS Nico Giarratano leads the Dons with a .600 (6-for-10) average with runners in scoring position so far this season. OF Blake Valley is not far behind with a .556 (5-for-9) clip in those situations. As a team, USF is hitting .276 (21-for-76) with runners in scoring position, compared to their opponents .344 (42-for-122) average.
AT THE PLATE: As a team, the Dons are hitting .271 overall. Opponents are hitting .345 on the year.
ON THE BASEPATHS: USF is 6-for-9 on stolen base attempts so far this season. OF Blake Valley leads the Dons with a pair of stolen bases on the year.
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.
