April 17, 2003

A LOOK AT USF: What a difference a week makes. After just winning twice in their last 10 games, USF took to the road for a three-game at Gonzaga in West Coast Conference interdivisional action. San Francisco responded to the challenge, sweeping the Zags and jumped back in the thick of the West division race sitting just 1/2 game behind divisional leader San Diego in the standings. San Francisco got excellent pitching performances from both the rotation and the bullpen and earned their first WCC sweep of the season and third WCC series victory overall. Now the Dons turn their focus towards Pepperdine, who comes in leading the Coast Division with a 12-3 league record, 23-15 overall.

WHO'S HOT FOR THE DONS: Junior catcher Ryan Hanson enjoyed a monster weekend at Gonzaga, driving in four runs in back-to-back victories against the Bulldogs. In his last 10 games, Hanson hits at a .406 (13-32) with three doubles, homerun and 10 RBI. For his efforts last week, Hanson was named West Coast Conference Player of the Week. Senior outfielder Nick Tarbat has also played well for the Dons, averaging .324 (11-34) with four doubles a homerun and five RBI. IN his last four appearances, senior right-hander Kevin Annis posted a 3.29 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 13.2 innings of work. Junior right-handed starter Kevin Rose has pitched better, posting a 1-1 record, a 4.30 with 12 strikeouts in 14.2 innings.

SCOUTING PEPPERDINE: The Waves enter their West Coast Conference series against USF boasting a 23-15 overall record, 12-3 in WCC play. The Waves are riding high after completing a sweep against WCC and LA rival Loyola Marymount last weekend in addition to a 12-3 win at UC Riverside on Tuesday. Pepperdine has won four straight and nine of their last 10. The Waves only league setbacks came against Saint Mary's in the 2003 WCC opener and a pair of losses at Santa Clara). Pepperdine has swept their last two conference series (San Diego, LMU). As a team, the Waves hit at a .272 clip, .287 during league action. Three Pepperdine regulars hit better than .300, led by Chris Kelly (.338, 11 2B, 3B, 11 HR, 30 RBI) and Kevin Estrada (.333, 9 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 20 RBI). The Waves' pitching staff continues to perform at a high level, posting a 3.80 ERA, and lowers it to a remarkable 2.80 mark in conference games. Right-handed starters Brandon Boesch (5-4, 2.04 ERA) leads the staff, followed by Greg Ramirez (4-2, 2.31 ERA).

USF VERSUS PEPPERDINE - THE SERIES: Thursday marks the 101st meeting between USF and Pepperdine, with the Waves holding a dominating edge in the all-time series 79-21 since 1970. Since 1985, Pepperdine owns a 64-15 mark, including a three-game series sweep in Malibu in 2001 and 2002. San Francisco won the first West Coast Conference series against the Waves in program history at Benedetti Diamond in 2000, downing Pepperdine 6-1 in the opener and posted a 10-6 victory in the rubber match.

GIARRATANO SURPASSES CENTURY MARK: USF head coach Nino Giarratano collected his 100th career victory on the Hilltop with a 3-2 victory against San Diego (3/15/03). Giarratano became the fifth coach in program history to surpass the century mark, joining USF Hall-of-Famer Dante Benedetti (427), Ken Bowman (209), Dutch Anderson (158) and Rich Hill (139) on the leader board.

PEPPERDINE SERIES INTERNET BROADCAST: USF's West Coast Conference interdivisional series versus Pepperdine will be broadcast live on the internet via YahooBroadcast.com. Mark Papadopoulos and Dan Harrington will call all the action live from Benedetti Diamond. Fans can access the broadcast at www.USFDons.com. In addition to the live internet broadcasts, USF is proud to offer Gametracker, a state-of-the-art system for following games in progress batter-by-batter. Gametracker is available for all USF home games and several WCC road contests.

USF vs. GONZAGA SERIES RECAP: USF desperately needed victories to jump back into the West Coast Conference West division race. The Diamond Dons accomplished their mission in the Pacific Northwest, posting a rare road sweep at Gonzaga. San Francisco out-scored the Bulldogs 19-11 (4-3, 7-5, 8-3) despite getting out-hit 38-22. San Francisco took advantage of a monster weekend from junior catcher Ryan Hanson, who drove in four RBI in back-to-back games against the Zags. USF was able to capitalize on seven Gonzaga errors and benefitted from solid starting pitching. Senior Kevin Annis (3-2) started game one against Gonzaga, allowing two runs off six hits in 6.2 innings. Senior right-hander Bryan Williams (4-2) collected his team-leading fourth win of the season, pitching 8.0 innings in game two, allowing four runs off seven hits. Junior right-hander Kevin Rose (3-5) pitched eight innings allowing just two runs off nine hits, while striking out six.

HANSON WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: USF junior catcher Ryan Hanson propelled USF to a road sweep at Gonzaga and helped the Diamond Dons leap back into the divisional race and earned West Coast Conference Player of the Week honors in the process. In a Tuesday game at Pacific, Hanson went 2-for-4 with a double against the Tigers. Hanson was just getting started. The Fresno native powered USF, with back-to-back four RBI days in game two and three against the Zags. After going hitless in game one against the Bulldogs, Hanson went 3-for-4 with a double and four RBI. Trailing 1-0 in game three, Hanson led off the fifth inning with a solo homerun to left, his second of the season, fueling a five-run inning. Hanson would later slam a bases clearing double to the wall in a 2-for-4 day. Hanson is the third Diamond Don honored this season, following junior infielders Armand Gaerlan (3/10) and Nick Cirbo (3/24).

USF AMONG WCC LEADERS: Several USF players rank among the top-10 in several league categories (as of 4/16/03). Junior Armand Gaerlan ranks seventh in slugging percentage (.582), on-base percentage (.448) and is eighth in walks (20). Senior outfielder Nick Tarbat leads the WCC in triples (4), rates second in walks (32), ranks third in the league in on-base percentage (.486) and runs (32). Senior outfielder Jason Howard shares sixth place in doubles (11), while junior outfielder Joe Jacobitz ranks seventh in walks (21). Senior right-hander Bryan Williams ranks ninth in opposing batting average (.280) and innings pitched (63.0) and shares seventh place in victories (4).

DIAMOND DONS IN THE WCC: San Francisco rates in the top-four in several team statistics this season. USF ranks second in walks (168) and rates third in multiple categories, including on-base percentage (.371), runs (228), RBI (204) and rate fourth in hits (364).

JESSE FOPPERT MAKES ML DEBUT WITH GIANTS: Former USF pitcher Jesse Foppert made his major league debut tonight pitching two hitless and scoreless innings as San Francisco beat Houston 4-2. Foppert, who played first base and pitched for USF during the 2001 season, entered the game in the top of the seventh, with the Giants leading 4-1. He retired the side in order with Craig Biggio becoming his first major league strikeout. In the eighth, he retired the first two batters, including Brian Hunter via strikeout before walking Jeff Kent. Foppert was replaced by Giants' closer Tim Worrell in the ninth, but was named "Player of the Game" by the Giants' TV crew. In addition, Foppert received a game ball and the lineup card in recognition of his debut. Foppert earned All-West Coast Conference Second Team honors in 2001 as a utility player and was selected in the second round of the 2001 MLB draft.

USF HEAD COACH NINO GIARRATANO: Nino Giarratano returns for his fifth season on the Hilltop. He guided the Dons to a winning season in 2001, including a 13-2 home record, against the toughest schedule in program history. Giarratano owns a 105-146-1 record with the Dons, including winning seven of the last 10 games in 2002. This win streak included taking two out of three against Portland, a sweep of St. Mary's and an upset win over Cal. Coach Giarratano served as an assistant at Arizona State during the Sun Devils' runner-up showing in the 1998 College World Series. He also posted a 310-122 mark in seven years as head coach at Trinidad State JC (1989-94) and Yavapai CC (1995-96), while being named Collegiate Baseball's National Junior College Coach of the Year three times.