SAN FRANCISCO — The University of San Francisco baseball team will host Loyola Marymount for a three-game West Coast Conference series starting Thursday at Benedetti Diamond.
 
GAME #23-25 INFORMATION
Opponent: Loyola Marymount (9-14, 2-4 WCC)
Site: San Francisco (Benedetti Diamond)
 
Thursday, April 1, 2021 – 3 p.m. PDT
Probable Starters: RHP Josh Agnew (2-0, 2.70 ERA) vs. RHP Landen Bourassa (1-2, 5.76 ERA)
Live Video: bit.ly/2PsbIXQ
Live Stats: bit.ly/3u96PSo
 
Friday, April 2, 2021 – 1 p.m. PDT
Probable Starters: RHP CJ Fernadezees (1-1, 2.51 ERA) vs. RHP Josh Mollerus (0-2, 8.25 ERA)
Live Video: bit.ly/3fusctl
Live Stats: bit.ly/39vx2mn
 
Saturday, April 3, 2021 – 1 p.m. PDT
Probable Starters: RHP Matt McClure (2-1, 4.33 ERA) vs. RHP Grant Nechak (0-1, 5.73 ERA)
Live Video: bit.ly/2O9aikq
Live Stats: bit.ly/2QQDttv
 
ABOUT THE DONS

• San Francisco (7-15, 3-3 WCC) took two of three on the road at BYU last weekend, winning its first series at BYU since the Cougars joined the WCC for the 2012 season. It was the Dons' first series win overall against BYU in seven years (2014 in San Francisco). The Dons nearly swept the series, holding leads of 5-0 and 7-3 in Thursday's opener before the Cougars came back in extra innings to win, 8-7.
   
• Jacob Munoz has four hits in conference play so far – with three of them going over the fence. Munoz has hit three home runs in six WCC games, slugging .565 over the past two weekends. He has four overall on the year to go with a team-leading 20 RBIs.
   
• The Dons are the fourth-highest scoring team in the WCC with 121 runs in 22 games (5.5 runs per game). USF has scored five or more runs in 13 of its 22 contests, tallying 10 or more runs on three occasions. It has hung a 4.34 ERA on opposing pitchers, racking up 63 extra-base hits.

ABOUT LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
The Lions (9-14, 2-4 WCC) have lost back-to-back games and 10 of their last 12, thought they picked up a WCC series victory over visiting Gonzaga last weekend by winning the first two games of the series. Those wins snapped what had been an eight-game losing streak. The Lions started the year 7-4 with series wins over Pac-12 Conference members Utah and Washington. LMU is 3-8 on the road this year, having lost four in a row away from Page Stadium.
 
Kenny Oyama leads the Lions with a .341 batting average and 30 hits. Alec Cargin is the Lions' power threat with team highs in home runs (4), RBIs (19) and slugging percentage (.459). LMU has only hit eight homers as a team through 23 games, tied for fewest in the WCC (Saint Mary's). LMU averages 3.87 runs per game, with the second-fewest total runs scored in the WCC this year (89). CJ Fernadezees has been the Lions' top starter, posting a 2.51 ERA in six starts while holding opponents to a .198 batting average. Holden Christian has been even better out of the bullpen, not allowing an earned run in 10 appearances (19 innings pitched) and striking out 27 against only five walks.
 
PHAM-TASTIC IN RELIEF
Junior right-hander Alex Pham has been one of the Dons' strongest pitchers all year, and he's pitched exclusively out of the bullpen. He's been USF's go-to arm when they need a stop, and the multi-talented reliever has pitched in short or long situations. Each of Pham's last four outings have been at least four innings long, including a season-long seven-inning relief appearance at nationally ranked UC Santa Barbara on March 12. He's posted a 2.84 ERA in 25 1/3 innings pitched with a team-high 40 strikeouts against only 14 walks while limiting opponents to a .206 batting average.
 
COMING UP
San Francisco plays two South Bay opponents next week, first hosting San Jose State for a non-conference matchup on Tuesday, then traveling down Highway 101 to face Santa Clara for a three-game WCC series starting Friday. Fans can find all live coverage links on USFDons.com.