April 25, 2002

SCOUTING THE SAINT MARY'S GAELS: The Gaels are coming off a series winning weekend in which the team took two games from the Toreros of San Diego at Cunningham Stadium. Saint Mary's has won the last three conference series including a series win against Loyola Marymount and a sweep of Portland. The Gaels are led offensively by Jason Waugh with a .427 average with team-highs in homeruns (12), RBI (39) and doubles (13) and has hit safely in 32 of 35 games reaching first in every game this season for the Gaels. Waugh is currently on an 12-game hitting streak. Waugh is followed by Mark Teahen with a .362 average with five doubles. The bullpen is led by Mike Byer with a 4.42 ERA for Saint Mary's.

USF VS. SAINT MARY'S - 2001 Series: The last time these two teams met was April 12-14, 2001. The Dons swept the series against Saint Mary's with 4-0, 15-5 and 9-6 victories at Benedetti Diamond.

BOOTH CONTINUES TO GENERATE DON RUNS: Senior catcher Steve Booth continues his tremendous power surge. For the season, Booth leads the team in homeruns (14), doubles (12), extra base hits (27) and RBI (52). In addition, Booth rates second on the team in batting average (.333) and has been solid behind the plate, throwing out 13 base-runners this season. Booth has been generating runs this season for the Dons knocking in 52 runs off 56 hits for the season and scoring a team second best 30 runs himself. Booth's long ball production places him in a share of fifth place on the USF single-season chart 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 9th place on the career homerun list at 16.

DONS BATTLED PEPPERDINE & UNR: USF was swept last weekend in Malibu by the Waves of Pepperdine including a heartbreaking 6-5 12-inning loss on Friday. The Waves defeated the Dons 7-6 and 11-0 Saturday and Sunday respectively. Junior outfielder Ryan Sittauer knocked out his second and third homeruns of the season against the Waves. Sittauer finished the series 4-for-12 with two homeruns, three RBI and three runs scored. Freshman infielder Blaine Umeda blasted his first career homerun as a Don in the series as well. Sophomore leftfielder Joe Jacobtiz topped the team in the series finishing 5-for-10 at the plate with two runs scored and one RBI. Sophomore shortstop Armand Gaerlan finished the weekend 5-for-15 withy three runs scored and one RBI. Booth ended the series 4-for-13 with two RBI against the Waves. Senior southpaw Jeremy Kinney threw an outstanding 9.1 innings against Pepperdine in Friday's extra-innings contest. Kinney sat down a career-high 10 batters. Senior right-hander Jesse Mena (2-3) suffered the loss. Junior right-hander Zach Brooks (2-1) and senior right-hander Peter Dunkle (1-7) also took losses in the series. The Dons traveled to Reno to face the Wolf Pack and came home with a 21-5 loss. Gaerlan led the team at the plate finishing 3-for-4 with one double and one run. Booth saw a 2-for-4 day with one run and Jacobitz finished 2-for-5 with one homerun, one run and two RBI.

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.

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 (.404), hits (74), runs (39) and ties for second in doubles (9) and ranks second in RBI (33). In conference action, Jacobitz is hitting .440 with four doubles, three homeruns and 14 RBI. 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 23 times in 183 at-bats and cracked into the single-season top-10 list this season. Jacobitz is tied in ninth place with Chris Kroener with 74 and needs only ten to take the number one spot. 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 conference play Fukuroku is hitting at a .321 clip with 25 hits, three doubles, three homeruns and 18 RBI. 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 nine strikeouts in 122 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 187. So far, Dunkle leads the team with 60 strikeouts this season and has 227 in his career. Dunkle recorded aseason-high 10 strikeouts against Gonzaga in the Sunday loss to the Bulldogs. 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 seventh, eight and ninth homeruns of the season in the conference series with Gonzaga. 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 surpasses his RBI production (15) of his freshman All-West Coast Conference Honorable Mention campaign with 23 RBI this season. 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 (9) and ranks second in extra-base hits (16) behind Booth.

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 .415 pace with four doubles, a triple, and three RBI. Gradishar rates fourth on the team in hits (41), and doubles (7) and rates in sixth place in runs (19). 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 22, the date of the last set of league numbers sent out by the conference office, sophomore slugger Joe Jacobitz ranked second on hits with 66, trailing only Santa Clara's Joey Gomes (73). Senior catcher Steve Booth rated second in the WCC in RBI with 52. In addition, Booth ranked second on the homerun leader board with 14 on the season, also behind Gold (28), who is chasing former Dons All-American Taggert Bozied who launched a WCC and USF record 30 in 1999. Booth also registered fourth in total bases with a total of 112. On the pitching side, senior right-hander Peter Dunkle's 61 strikeouts is good for third place among league leaders. USD's Tom Caple led the field with 74 strikeouts, while Ricky Barrett was second with 64 for the Toreros.

DONS ON A TEAR AT THE PLATE: Jacobitz is setting the pace for the Dons in batting recording a team-high .404 (74-for-183) average for the season. Joe has knocked in 33 RBI with nine doubles, one triple and four homerun. Junior outfielder Ryan Sittauer finished the series with Pepperdine 4-for-12 with two homeruns, three runs, and three RBI. Sittauer followed with a 1-for-2 day against University of Nevada-Reno with one run and one RBI. Gaerlan and junior outfielder Alfonso Valdez each added a double in the loss to the Wolf Pack. The team is hitting a combined .293 average with 479 hits, and 127 extra base hits including 42 homeruns for the season.

USF LEADERS: Batting Average: Joe Jacobitz (.404) Hits: Joe Jacobitz (74) Runs: Joe Jacobitz (39) Doubles: Steve Booth (12) Homeruns: Steve Booth (14) Extra-base hits: Steve Booth (27) RBI: Steve Booth (52) ERA: Zach Brooks (6.58) Appearances: Steve Moses (22) Strikeouts: Peter Dunkle (61)