Baseball Travels to UC Riverside for Weekend Set

March 18, 2010

Complete Release in PDF Format

USF BASEBALL TRAVELS TO RIVERSIDE FOR THREE: The Dons took a 3-2 win over Houston at Benedetti Diamond on Tuesday. Over the weekend, USF travels to UC Riverside for a three-game set. Friday's game is scheduled for 7:00 PM, with Saturday's first pitch set for 2:00 PM, and Sunday's set for 1:00 PM. Last season, USF went 1-3 against the Highlanders.

COMING UP NEXT FOR THE DONS: Next week, USF will host Cal at Benedetti Diamond on Tuesday. First pitch against the Bears is set for 2:00 PM. Over the weekend, the Dons head to Southern California again, heading to UC Santa Barbara for a three-game set. Friday will begin at 2:00 PM, followed by 1:00 PM starts on Saturday and Sunday.

BASEBALL TOPS HOUSTON 3-2: USF earned its third consecutive win, topping Houston 3-2 at Benedetti Diamond on Tuesday afternoon. The Dons managed seven hits on the day, and have 36 in their last three games. Junior right-hander Jonathan Abramson (1-0) earned his first win of the season, giving up one earned run off three hits, and adding a strikeout in 1.1 relief innings. Freshman right-hander Haden Hinkle (1) earned his first career save, tossing 4.0 scoreless innings with one strikeout. A bases loaded hit-by-pitch for Ryan Lipkin scored one, and a two-RBI double by Jared Denham gave the Dons a three-run lead in the bottom of the first.

SCOUTING REPORT - WEEK 5

GAME #19-21 - UC RIVERSIDE (7-5)
SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS: Graduations and the Major League Baseball Draft took their toll on the UC Riverside Baseball team over the summer, particularly the pitching staff, as the team team lost 45 of 53 starts from a year ago and its career saves leader. Currently, Trevor Frank leads on the mound with a 2-0 record and a 3.50 ERA. At the plate, Robert Brantly leads with a .318 BA (at least 10 games played). Riverside swept Brigham Young to start the season, and also has wins over Bethune-Cookman, Loyola Marymount, San Diego State, and FIU. Head coach Doug Smith is in his sixth season at UCR.

TEAM COMPARISONS - 2010 STATS

Team	W-L	BA	RUNS	HITS	HR	RBI	BB	ERA	SO	OBA
USF	10-8	.275	88	167	17	84	57	4.09	118	.273
UCR	7-5	.269	68	107	11	63	27	6.42	81	.327

USF FINISHES AZTEC INVITATIONAL 2-2: The Dons dropped game one to San Diego 15-7, and then fell to Fresno State 5-2 on Friday. But USF came up big on Saturday against the University of Alabama Birmingham, smashing a season high 19 hits en route to a 14-8 win. USF closed out the weekend, taking a 5-3 win over host San Diego State on Sunday. The Dons tallied 45 hits in the four-game tournament, including 14 doubles and six home runs. Stephen Yarrow and Pete Lavin were named to the All-Tournament Team. In four games, Yarrow batted .444 (8-for-18) with two doubles, three homeruns (including a grand slam), nine RBI, and six runs scored. Lavin also batted .444 (8-for-18) with a homerun, four RBI, four runs scored and five stolen bases.

USF SETS SEASON HIGH HITS TOTAL: With 19 hits versus UAB on Saturday, March 13, USF bested its previous season high of 17 hits (set at Cal Poly on Feb. 28), with eight Dons getting at least one base knock in the contest. Junior third baseman Stephen Yarrow connected on his team and conference leading eighth homerun and doubled on a 4-for-5 night with five RBI. Junior centerfielder Pete Lavin also had a four-hit night, driving in two runs and scoring three times. Sophomore first baseman Nik Balog went 3-for-3, including two doubles, with an RBI and a run scored. Senior designated hitter Ryan Lipkin smashed two homeruns and drove in three Dons. Freshman second baseman Jason Mahood finished the day 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored. Freshman left fielder Jared Denham doubled on a 2-for-3 day. Junior right fielder Connor Bernatz and sophomore catcher Mason Morioka each doubled in a run for USF.

Stephen Yarrow EARNS FIRST DONS WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: San Francisco junior Stephen Yarrow was named the West Coast Conference baseball Player of the Week for February 22-28, as announced by the Conference. The third baseman batted .600 (6-10) with a double and two home runs in three games against Cal Poly. He added four RBI, three runs scored, three walks, and an impressive 1.300 slugging percentage. For the season, Yarrow is batting .352 (25-for-71) with fIVE doubles, a triple, and a conference leading eight home runs. In the Aztec Invitational (March 11-14), he batted .346 (9-for-26) with two doubles and three home runs, including his first career grand slam in a 14-8 win over the University of Alabama Birmingham. Yarrow drove in 10 runs, scored six and led the Dons with a .769 slugging percentage. He has added 20 RBI, 16 runs scored, and five walks.

DENHAM BREAKING OUT: Freshman Jared Denham is having a fantastic start to the 2010 season. In 15 games played, the outfielder is leading the team with a .477 batting average (21-for-44) and has added a team leading nine doubles, eight RBI, nine runs scored and a stolen base.

DONS EARN FIRST 2010 SERIES VICTORY OVER TOUGH CAL POLY TEAM: San Francisco baseball split the doubleheader with Cal Poly on Sunday, en route to a series win at Baggett Stadium. The Dons fell 7-3 in game one, but came back to take a big 11-5 win in game two, after winning 5-0 on Friday. Last year, Cal Poly finished as high as 19 in some polls and took a trip to the Tempe Regional. The Mustangs are expected to be a top team in their conference again this season, as they were picked to finish third by Big West coaches.

FRESHMEN AND TRANSFERS MAKING BIG IMPACT: Junior transfer Pete Lavin, redshirt freshmen Jared Denham and Jason Mahood, and true freshman Haden Hinkle are proving invaluable for the Dons in the early going. Lavin leads USF with five stolen bases, and has added two doubles and a homerun. Denham leads both the Dons and the Conference with nine doubles, lead USF with a .477 batting average, and has 21 hits on the season, second only to Stephen Yarrow. Mahood is batting .241 with two doubles and a homerun, while Hinkle is just the second Don this season to earn a save.