April 12, 2002

SCOUTING THE GONZAGA BULLDOGS: Gonzaga dropped two of three last weekend to the Portland Pilots in West Coast Conference action. The Pilots took 2-1 and 12-2 victories from Gonzaga, who defeated Portland 16-5 on Saturday. Junior second baseman Eric Rodland is leading the Bulldogs at the plate with a .344 (44-for-128) average with seven doubles, one triple and four homeruns on the season. Senior first baseman Nate Gold follows with a .333 (47-for-141) average leading the team in doubles, homeruns and RBI with 9, 22 and 45, respectfully. Gold's 22 homeruns put him on pace to challenge the WCC single-season record of 30 set in 1999 by USF's Taggert Bozied. On the mound, senior right-hander Greg Brooks leads Gonzaga with a 4-1 record and a 2.40 ERA. Sophomore southpaw Ed Clelland posts a 3-3 record with a 3.76 ERA in 55.0 innings of work with 36 strikeouts.

USF VS. GONZAGA - 2001 Series: The last time these two teams met was April 27-29, 2001. The Bulldogs swept the series against USF with 15-1, 2-1 and 6-3 victories in Spokane. The teams met earlier last season for a three-game series March 17-18 at Benedetti Diamond. The Dons swept Gonzaga in the series 5-3, 10-6, 9-5. USF's Peter Dunkle collected his third win of 2001 in a 6-3 home win against the Bulldogs.

BOOTH CONTINUES TO LEAVE THE YARD: Senior catcher Steve Booth continues his tremendous power surge. For the season, Booth leads the team in homeruns (13), doubles (12), extra base hits (25) and RBI (48). In addition, Booth rates second on the team in batting average (.346) and has been solid behind the plate, throwing out 13 base-runners this season. In his last 10 games, Booth was even more impressive, hitting at a .410 clip with three homeruns to go along with four doubles and 12 RBI in 39 plate appearances. Booth's long ball production places him in a share of seventh place on the USF single-season chart and he needs just one more for a share of fifth place with Taggert Bozied (2000) and Peter Quittner (1997). Bozied is the single-season and West Coast Conference leader with 30 in 1999. Booth is tied for 10th place on the career homerun list at 15.

DONS BATTLED #23 OKLAHOMA STATE: USF dropped a pair of midweek road games to #23 Oklahoma State in Stillwater. After dropping a 20-2 decision last Tuesday, the Dons rallied on Wednesday. San Francisco out-hit the Cowboys in game two of the series, but fell 9-8, despite a two-run homerun from sophomore infielder Armand Gaerlan (6) with two outs in the top of the ninth. Freshman outfielder Royce Fukuroku (3) and sophomore Nick Cirbo (1) also homered for the Dons and both drove in a pair of runs. Sophomore right-hander Kevin Rose enjoyed a solid outing in game two after an absence in the rotation due to a back injury. Rose pitched 3.0 innings, allowing two runs off one hit to go along with five strikeouts. In the first contest, senior catcher Steve Booth detonated a deep two-run blast landing approximately 460 feet into the adjoining Cowgirl softball complex for his team-leading 13th long ball of the season.

JACOBITZ CONTINUES TO PRODUCE: Sophomore outfielder Joe Jacobitz has made a big impact on the USF lineup after turning in a Freshman All-American campaign at UNLV last season. Jacobitz leads the Dons in batting average (.388), hits (59), runs (34) and ties for second in doubles (8) and ranks second in RBI (28). In his last 10 games, Jacobitz has hit .378 with 14 hits and three doubles to go along with six runs scored. Jacobitz had a monster day in game three at Loyola Marymount, in a game to be completed on May 10. Jacobitz went 5-for-6 with six RBI and drew a pair of intentional walks. In game one against Santa Clara, the sophomore switch hitter went a perfect 4-for-4 with a pair of RBI. A great contact hitter, Jacobitz has struck out just 18 times in 152 at-bats and needs just 14 hits to crack the single-season top-10 list. Rich Herbert owns 10th place on the single-season list with 73 hits in 1984. Former Dons All-American Taggert Bozied tops the list with 84 base hits in 1999.

FUKUROKU - HAWAIIAN SUPERMAN: Freshman infielder Royce Fukuroku proves the old adage of good things coming in small packages and his production for the Dons this season has been anything but small. In his last 10 games Fukuroku has hit at a .242 clip with eight hits, one double and six RBI to go along with five walks. In the suspended game against Loyola Marymount, Fukuroku tied a USF single-game record with a 6-for-7 performance, pounded a homerun and drove in seven RBI to help USF to a 25-21 lead heading into the bottom of the 10th. Fukuroku launched another dramatic homerun to left field against #23 Oklahoma State for his third long ball of the season. A terrific contact hitter, Fukuroku has recorded just seven strikeouts in 92 at-bats during an impressive power season in his first year on the Hilltop.

DUNKLE MOVES UP CAREER WINS LIST: Senior right-hander Peter Dunkle moved into a share of fourth place on the USF career wins list when he won in relief against Michigan. Dunkle needs just two more wins to secure sole possession of third place behind Dana Hendershott (1968-71), who won 22 games and Jerry Eillers (1962-64), who won 17 decisions. Dunkle is also moving up the career strikeout list after entering the season in third place on the all-time career list with 177. So far, Dunkle leads the team with 50 strikeouts this season and has 227 in his career. Hendershott is the all-time USF "K" leader with 299, while Eillers is second with 263.

GAERLAN GOES DEEP AGAIN FOR USF: Sophomore infielder Armand Gaerlan powered his sixth homerun of the season in dramatic fashion against the #23 Oklahoma State Cowboys. Gaerlan sent a two-run shot deep to left with two outs in the top of the ninth to fuel a late rally against the Cowpokes. After homering just once during his freshman campaign - a dramatic solo shot to left in USF's upset victory against Stanford last season - Gaerlan has already equalled his RBI production (15) of his freshman All-West Coast Conference Honorable Mention campaign. Gaerlan, who demonstrates his toughness in every contest, has played the majority of the season with a broken jaw. Gaerlan ranks second on the team in homeruns (6) and is tied for second in extra-base hits (12) with fellow sophomore Joe Jacobitz.

GRADISHAR ENJOYING SENIOR YEAR: Senior second baseman Luke Gradishar is making the most of his final season of collegiate baseball. Gradishar leads the Dons at the plate during West Coast Conference action at an impressive .439 pace with 18 hits, three doubles, a triple, a pair of RBI and six runs. Gradishar rates fourth on the team in hits (34), and doubles (6) and shares fifth place in runs (17). In the suspended game against Loyola Marymount, Gradishar was enjoying a fine day at the plate, going 4-for-6 with three runs. Gradishar went 5-for-11 in the last WCC series against Santa Clara with a double, an RBI and earned three walks.

USF VS. LOYOLA MARYMOUNT GAME THREE: USF and Loyola Marymount will continue their March 24 contest called due to darkness on May 10th before hosting the Lions in a three-game set at Benedetti Diamond. Heading into the bottom of the 10th inning, USF leads LMU 25-21. The two teams have already combined for a remarkable 51 hits, with the Dons accumulating 29, led by a 6-for-7, seven RBI day from freshman infielder Royce Fukuroku and a 5-for-6, six RBI day from sophomore outfielder Joe Jacobitz.

DONS AMONG WCC LEADERS: USF has a couple players near the top of West Coast Conference statistical categories. As of April 8, the date of the last set of league numbers sent out by the conference office, sophomore slugger Joe Jacobitz ranked second on hits with 50, trailing only Santa Clara's Joey Gomes (59). Senior catcher Steve Booth rated second in the WCC in RBI with 40, trailing Gonzaga's Nate Gold (45). In addition, Booth ranked second on the homerun leader board with 12 on the season, also behind Gold (22), who is chasing former Dons All-American Taggert Bozied who launched a WCC and USF record 30 in 1999. Booth also registered fifth in total bases with a total of 80. On the pitching side, senior right-hander Peter Dunkle's 44 strikeouts entering the weekend series against Gonzaga was good for third place among league leaders. USD's Tom Caple led the field with 74 strikeouts, while Ricky Barrett was second with 59 for the Toreros.

USF HEAD COACH NINO GIARRATANO: Nino Giarratano returns for his fourth season on the Hilltop. He guided the Dons to a winning season, including a 13-2 home record, against the toughest schedule in program history. Giarratano owns a 83-117-1 record with the Dons including two road wins last season against top ranked schools. Coach Giarratano served as an assistant at Arizona State during the Sun Devils' runner-up showing at the 1998 College World Series. Giarratano also posted a 310-122 mark in seven years as head coach at Trinidad State JC (1990-94) and Yavapi CC (1995-96), while being named Collegiate Baseball's National Junior College Coach of the Year on three occasions.

USF LEADERS: Batting Average: Joe Jacobitz (.388) Hits: Joe Jacobitz (59) Runs: Joe Jacobitz (34) Doubles: Steve Booth (12) Homeruns: Steve Booth (13) Extra-base hits: Steve Booth (25) RBI: Steve Booth (48) ERA: Steve Moses (5.40) Appearances: Steve Moses (20) Strikeouts: Peter Dunkle (50)