April 8, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

DONS PLAY FOUR ON THE ROAD THIS WEEK: USF (20-11, 5-1 WCC) heads to San Jose for a Tuesday match-up with San Jose State (15-13) at Municipal Stadium. Game time is set for 6:00 PM. The Spartans took an 8-6 victory in the earlier matchup between these two teams (3/4/08) at Benedetti Diamond. The Dons return to West Coast Conference action this weekend when they travel south to Malibu for a three game set with No. 9 Pepperdine (20-10, 3-2 WCC). Friday's first pitch is set for 3:00 PM, while both Saturday's and Sunday's will begin at 1:00 PM. Last season, USF hosted then No. 7 Pepperdine, falling two games to three.

Evan Fredrickson NAMED WEST COAST CONFERENCE PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Junior left-hander Evan Fredrickson earned West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week honors for his spectacular performance against No. 7 California in the 2008 Dante Benedetti Classic at AT&T Park April 1. The Virginia Tech transfer threw 7.0 scoreless innings, scattering just four hits, while tossing a career high 13 strikeouts to earn his first WCC honor.

NEXT UP FOR THE DONS: USF travels the short distance to Palo Alto for a mid-week matchup with Stanford at 6:00 PM on Wednesday. For the weekend, the Dons play West Coast Conference and Bay Area rival Santa Clara for three at Stephen Schott Stadium. Friday's game will begin at 7:00 PM, Saturday's game will start at 6:00 PM, and Sunday's first pitch is set for 1:00 PM.

SCOUTING REPORT - WEEK 8

GAME #32 - SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS (15-13)

SCOUTING SAN JOST STATE: After taking just one of four against Hawai'i last week, San Jose State is looking to take the season series from USF on Tuesday. In their last meeting, the Spartans defeated the Dons 8-6 at Benedetti Diamond, the only loss for San Francisco at home. SJSU plays pretty well at home too, accruing a 10-4 record. Leading the Spartans at the plate is sophomore infielder Corey Valine who is batting .306 with four doubles, two homeruns and 24 RBI. Also producing is sophomore infielder Kyle Bellows who has seven doubles, a triple, two homeruns and 25 RBI. On the mound, junior right-hander Ryan Shopshire is 5-0 with a 2.74 ERA in 10 appearances. In 23.0 innings, he has 22 strikeouts to just 10 walks. Head coach Sam Piraro is in his 21st year at the helm for SJSU and has compiled a 669-508-6 record as the winningest head coach in San Jose State baseball history.

TEAM COMPARISONS - 2008 SEASON STATS
Team	W-L	BA	RUNS	HITS	HR	RBI	BB 	ERA   SO	OBA
USF 	20-11	.294 	198 	316 	15	183 	106	4.00  206 	.259
SJSU	15-13	.261	178	260	10	146	124	4.85  184	.290

LAST MEETINGS: SJSU 8, at USF 6 (3/4/08)

GAME #33-35 - No. 9 PEPPERDINE WAVES (20-10, 3-2 WCC)

SCOUTING NO. 9 PEPPERDINE: After finishing last season 35-22 overall (their 30th consecutive 30 win season), 14-7 in conference (3rd), and making an appearance in their 24th NCAA Regionals, the No. 9 Pepperdine Waves are currently third in the WCC, behind USF and No. 13 San Diego. The Waves lost seven players to the 2007 MLB Draft; nine were drafted, tying a school record. Junior outfielder Eric Thames is batting .380 (41-108) with eight doubles, six triples, nine homeruns, 40 RBI, and six stolen bases. Junior infielder Bryce Mendonca has 19 stolen bases. On the mound, junior right-hander Nathan Newman is 4-2, 2.57 ERA in eight appearances (six starts), with 34 strikeouts. Head coach Steve Rodriguez is 168-108 in five years at Pepperdine.

TEAM COMPARISONS - 2008 SEASON STATS
Team	W-L	BA	RUNS	HITS	HR	RBI	BB 	ERA   SO	OBA
USF 	20-11	.294 	198 	316 	15	183 	106	4.00  206 	.259
PEP	20-10	.310	229	318	26	212	139	4.55  191	.266

LAST MEETINGS: No. 7 Pep 10, at USF 3 (4/13/07);No. 7 Pep 6, at USF 4 (4/14/07); at USF 5, No. 7 Pep 4 (4/15/08)

WHO'S HOT FOR THE DONS:

Joey Railey MOVES UP HITS CHART: Senior second baseman Joey Railey is known to get a lot of hits. With a team leading 42 on the season, Railey now has 203 for his career, good for 9th place all time. He needs nine to pass Jason Howard (1998-03/211) for eighth place.

Tavo Hall's HOT STREAK: In four games last week, senior shortstop Tavo Hall was on fire, batting .467 (7-15) with a team leading five doubles (including two each on Saturday and Sunday), five RBI, three runs scored, and an .800 slugging percentage.

LIPKIN STILL LEADING ALL BATTERS: Sophomore catcher Ryan Lipkin is leading the Dons with a very impressive .388 batting average (33-for-85) in his first year on the Hilltop. Lipkin is also tied for first with eight doubles. On the year, Lipkin has one homerun, 10 RBI, 20 runs scored, and is 2-for-2 in stolen bases.

A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH?: Freshman left-hander Matt Lujan has thrown three consecutive gems on the mound. On March 20, he threw 8.0 innings, earning the 6-0 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson (the shutout was the Dons first of 2008). Last week (3/30), in helping the Dons earn the series victory over Saint Mary's, Lujan threw his first complete game, nearly earning another shutout, giving up just one run off three hits, two walks, and struck out two Gaels. On Sunday (4/6), helping the Dons sweep Loloya Marymount, Lujan earned the 5-1 victory, allowing two earned runs off three hits, three walks, and striking out three Lions in 6.0 innings.

MORGAN LEADS IN RBI AND HOMERUNS: Senior right-fielder Kyle Morgan leads USF with 31 RBI and four homeruns in 31 games. Morgan is tied for second with seven doubles and earned his first triple in last week's 9-5 win over LMU (4/4).

KALOGRIDES IS DONS ERA LEADER: In 12 appearances, all in relief, sophomore right hander Alex Kalogrides leads all Dons with a 1.66 ERA and is 3-0. in 21.2 innings, Kalogrides has a strikeout to walk ratio of 16-4 and oppenents are batting just .225 against him.

DONS ARE 12-1 IN LAST 13 GAMES: In their last 13 games, the Dons are 12-1, including seven and five game win streaks. The seven streak started on March 18th with a 13-8 win over Fresno State and ended with a 10-9 loss at Saint Mary's on Saturday (3/29). In the streak, the Dons batted .356 (88-247), with 22 doubles, three triples, six homeruns, 54 RBI and 58 runs scored. USF pitchers held opponents to a .201 batting average (46-229). After the Saint Mary's loss, the Dons won five more, starting with a 5-1 win over SMC on March 30th and is currently active.

HOME SWEET HOME: USF typically plays well at Benedetti Diamond, and after losing its 2008 home opener 8-6 to San Jose State on March 4th, the Dons have won 10 straight home games. At Benedetti Diamond this year, the Dons are batting .350 with 133 hits (36 doubles, five triples, and seven homeruns), and 85 RBI. Pitchers have a 3.00 ERA with 87 strikeouts and are holding opponents to a .202 batting average.

USF FINISHES MARCH 13-8: In the first full month of baseball competition in 2008, USF finished with a 13-8 record. The Dons played the best at Benedetti, 7-1, and went one game under .500 (6-7) on the road, including 2-1 at Saint Mary's in West Coast Conference opening weekend.