A big test awaits the Dons in Conway, South Carolina in the form of reigning NCAA Champion Coastal Carolina. USF will take part in a four-game tournament hosted by the Chanticleers starting on Friday at 7 a.m. PST.

In that first game the Dons (6-3, 0-0 WCC) will take on Albany. The Great Danes have played three games this year taking two out of three from Longwood.

Then in the second game of a double-header on Friday, the Dons will take on Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleer are 4-5 on the year coming off a year in which they won the tile after knocking off Arizona in the College World Series title.

"We've been taking it one day at a time," head coach Nino Giarratano said of preparing to face Coastal Carolina. "But as we get closer we can really focus on it now. We'll have a good practice tomorrow, get on a flight late (Wednesday night), it'll be a long trip but a good one. When we get there we play a game (against Albany) and then it's time for the reigning champs. We're excited to be at their ballpark and it will be a great experience for our kids."

Coastal Carolina is led offensively by one of the top sluggers in the NCAA to this point in the season in the form of Kevin Woodall Jr. The 6-foot 5-inch first baseman has already slugged five homers on the season. As a team, the Chanticleer have already knocked one out of the park 12 times.

Then on Saturday, USF will take on Winthrop (4-3) at 7 a.m. The Eagles won their first four games of the season before dropping the last three.
And finally on Sunday before the Dons head home, they'll get the reigning champs one more time.

This weekend is the third in a row in which the Dons will play four games. This offers a chance for the starting pitching staff to get a lot of work again and Giarratano will trot out Grant Goodman, Thomas Ponticelli, Sam Granoff and Daniel Slominski.

Goodman and Ponticelli have really asserted themselves early in the season. Goodman is 1-0 after two starts and sports an ERA of a mere 0.69. In 13 innings he has only allowed eight hits while striking out nine and holding opponents to a .174 batting average.

Ponticelli is 0-0 after two starts but holds an ERA of 2.77. He has also pitched 13 innings, striking out a team-high 13.

Another pitcher to keep an eye on over the weekend is Brendan Jenkins. Jenkins, in his first year as a Don, has made three appearances pitching seven innings and striking out six without allowing an earned run.

Offensively, all eyes will be on Ross Puskarich. He is currently riding a 26 game hitting streak dating back to last season. The streak is the longest the Dons have seen since 2000 when Taggert Bozied recorded a hit in 23 consecutive games. Puskarich is second on the team in batting average, hitting .382.

Also on the offensive side, Allen Smoot is leading the team with nine RBI. Brady Bate has been on fire as of late, coming off of a 2-for-4 with effort with a run and two steals in the win over Utah Valley. With that day, Bate became the Dons leading hitter at a .391 clip. Nico Giarratano also continued to rack up the extra base hits with a double against Utah Valley, his fourth of the season (tied for the team high with Bate).

Freshman Tyler Villaroman also continued to make his mark in his inaugural season. On Tuesday he earned his fourth start of the season going 1-for-3 with a run scored and a stolen base.

After this four game trip, The Dons will have a week at home before heading back out on the road for a three game trip to Arizona to take on Grand Canyon University. The next home game for the Diamond Dons will be on March 15^th at 3 p.m. when Fresno St. comes to town. You can buy tickets to see that game by clicking here.