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USF Baseball Welcomes in Santa Clara for a Three-Game West Coast Conference Series
May 5, 2004
Games 5/5-5/9Friday May 7, 2004 vs. Santa Clara San Francisco, CA/ Benedetti Diamond 3:00 PM
Saturday May 8, 2004 vs. Santa Clara San Francisco, CA/ Benedetti Diamond 1:00 PM
Sunday May 9, 2004 vs. Santa Clara San Francisco, CA/ Benedetti Diamond 1:00 PM
USF GOES 2-3 ON THE WEEK; LOSE TWO OF THREE AGAINST SAN DIEGO: USF (22-27, 9-12 WCC) began the week at Nevada on Tuesday, taking on the Wolf Pack for the second time this season. On February 15th, Nevada knocked off the Dons in a pitcher's duel, 2-1. The Dons would get their revenge though, beating Nevada in 11 innings, 6-5 on a wild pitch. The weekend series against San Diego was a wild one with leads changing almost every inning. In Friday's game, San Diego scored four runs in the fifth inning to completely erase a five-run Dons lead and went on to win the game 9-8. Saturday's game once again saw the Toreros come back to take the lead late. The Dons took a two run lead into the ninth inning, only to see San Diego score three times to win the game 6-5. On Sunday, it was the Dons turn to play catch up. With San Diego leading by four runs, the Dons came storming back to tie the game. In the 11th, Lucas DeLong singled in Jonnie Knoble and the USF won the ballgame 11-10.
THE DIAMOND DONS GET READY FOR A WEEKEND SHOWDOWN WITH WCC RIVAL SANTA CLARA: This weekend the Dons will host the Santa Clara Broncos (20-26, 9-12 WCC) in a three-game series beginning Friday afternoon at Benedetti Diamond. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 PM. This last weekend the Broncos lost two of a three game set at Gonzaga. In game one, Santa Clara was blown out by the Bulldogs 12-1. Nic Crosta had three hits for the Broncos in the loss. Game two once again went to Gonzaga as they scored four times in the eighth to put the game away. The Broncos would come back to win the final game of the series, blowing out the Bulldogs 11-2 behind a spectacular day from Michael Thompson, who went 4-for-5, with a home run and four RBI. When the Broncos and Dons met in late March, Santa Clara won two out of three, with the Dons taking game one of the series 2-1.
SENIORS CONTINUE TO GET IT DONE AT THE PLATE: The senior threesome of Armand Gaerlan, Chris Genung, and Joe Jacobitz continue to pound opposing pitchers this season. Over their last 10 games, the three seniors have combined to hit .404, going 51-for-126. Jacobitz raised his batting average over 60 points in the month of April. He is hitting .439 over the last 10 games, going 18-for-41, with three doubles, one triple and eight RBI. Gaerlan has hit .410 over that span, going 16-for-39, with two doubles, a triple, 10 runs scored and five RBI. Genung, the conference's second-leading hitter, hit .370 over the last 10 games, with six of his conference leading 21 doubles, and 13 RBI
DONS HURLERS GETTING IT DONE: The USF pitching staff continues to perform well as the WCC season rolls on. The team ERA of 4.69 is tops in the conference this season. The Diamond Don pitching staff leads the conference in runs allowed (259) and walks allowed (132). Opposing hitters are hitting .286 against the Dons, the second lowest average in the league. TJ Franco is third in the conference with five wins, followed by Kevin Rose with four. Derek Tate's 3.57 ERA ranks fourth in the conference. With 72 strikeouts, Kevin Rose ranks third in the WCC.
USF AT THE PLATE: At .310, the Diamond Dons are second in the conference in team batting average, behind only San Diego (.317). USF lead the conference with 550 hits and are second in runs scored (305), RBI (277), and total bases (719). Chris Genung is second in the WCC in hitting (.380) and hits (76) and leads the conference in doubles with 21. Stefan Gartrell and Nick Cirbo are tied for fifth in the conference with five home runs apiece.
THE DONS FEEL THE NEED FOR SPEED: San Francisco has been able to manufacture runs behind a speedy lineup that paces the conference in stolen bases with 54. At the top of the list are sophomores Andrew Smith and Jonnie Knoble who share the team-lead with 10 a piece. 13 different Dons have recorded more than one steal so far this season. San Francisco has not led the league in steals since the 2000 season, but paced the conference four times in six years from 1995-2000.
TEAM LEADERS:
Batting
Batting Average (min 100 ab's) - Chris Genung .380 Home Runs -Stefan Gartell / Nick Cirbo 5 RBI - Chris Genung 42 Runs - Armand Gaerlan 37 Hits - Chris Genung 76 Doubles - Chris Genung 21 Stolen Bases - Andrew Smith / Jonnie Knoble 10
Pitching
Wins - TJ Franco 5 ERA (min. 30 inn.) - Patrick McGuigan 2.42 Strikeouts - Kevin Rose 72 Saves - Patrick McGuigan 5 Complete Games - Derek Tate 2
DIAMOND DONS RANKING HIGH IN WCC STATISTICS: There are several Dons that are at or near the top of many of the WCC statistical categories.
Offensive Categories:
Batting Average: Chris Genung .380 2nd
Armand Gaerlan .358 5th
Hits: Chris Genung 76 2nd Armand Gaerlan 71 3rd
Home Runs: Stefan Gartrell 5 5th Nick Cirbo 5 5th
Runs Batted In: Chris Genung 42 3rd Armand Gaerlan 35 7th
Doubles: Chris Genung 21 1st
On Base Percentage: Armand Gaerlan .446 4th Chris Genung .423 8th
Total Bases: Chris Genung 109 2nd Armand Gaerlan 90 8th
Stolen Bases: Andrew Smith 10 4th Jonnie Knoble 10 4th
Pitching Categories:
Wins: TJ Franco 5 3rd Kevin Rose 4 4th
ERA: Derek Tate 3.57 4th
Strikeouts: Kevin Rose 72 3rd Derek Tate 57 10th
Saves: Patrick McGuigan 5 4th
WCC TEAM CATEGORIES:
Offensive Categories:
Team Batting Average .310 2nd Runs 305 2nd Hits 550 1st RBI 277 2nd Sac 41 1st Stolen Bases 54 1st
Pitching Categories:
Wins 22 4th ERA 4.63 1st Hits Allowed 472 3rd Runs Allowed 259 1st Walks Allowed 132 1st Opposing Average .286 2nd
NEWS AND NOTES:
Kevin Rose NAMED WCC PITCHER OF THE MONTH FOR MARCH: USF senior right-hander Kevin Rose turned in an outstanding month of March, dominating opposing hitters in four starts for the Dons. The San Jose native posted a 3-0 record for the month, compiling an impressive stat line that includes a 1.44 earned run average in 25.0 innings of work, while surrendering just four earned runs off 15 hits. Rose struck out 31 opposing hitters in his four appearances, while permitting only 11 walks. He did not surrender a homerun during the month and held opposing batters to a minuscule .172 batting average. Rose earned WCC Player of the Week honors after recording his 14th career victory in a 2-1 win over Santa Clara on March 26. He allowed just one unearned run off one base hit, while matching a season-high nine strikeouts as the Dons defeated the Broncos at Buck Shaw Stadium for the first time since 1998. Rose threw 104 pitches in that contest, with 75 of them registering for strikes.
Nick Cirbo NAMED WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Senior catcher Nick Cirbo was named the West Coast Conference Baseball Player of the Week for 3/16-3/21. The Colorado native propelled USF to a 5-0 record for the week, while batting at a .500 (9-18) clip as USF swept a non-conference series against Lafayette and their league opening series against Portland. Cirbo launched two towering homeruns to left, added a pair of doubles, drove in a team-high six runs and also scored a team-high six runs. In addition, Cirbo threw out three base runners. This is the third time Cirbo has received this honor in his four-year career on the Hilltop. This is the second time a Dons catcher has been named the West Coast Conference Baseball Player of the Week.
JON NORFOLK NAMED WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Freshman Jon Norfolk made one of the most memorable Diamond Dons debuts in recent memory this week for the University of San Francisco, en route to being named the WCC Player of the Week for the week of February 23rd-29th. This is his first player of the week honor in Norfolk's career. It is also the first WCC player of the week honor for the Diamond Dons this season. The redshirt freshman from Moreno Valley collected his first collegiate base hit in his first at-bat Tuesday as a pinch-hitter in USF's 7-4 victory at Cal. Norfolk did not play in the opening game of San Francisco's series against Hawaii, but made his presence felt in the final two games - both USF victories. Norfolk abused Rainbow pitching, going 5-for-7 with two doubles and five RBI in his first two collegiate starts of his career. Norfolk drove in three runs in USF's series clinching 7-4 win. In addition to his offensive fireworks, Norfolk did an excellent job defensively and managed the pitching staff like a veteran. For the week, Norfolk batted .750 (6-8) with two doubles, five RBI and three runs scored.
GIARRATANO MOVING UP THE LADDER: With San Francisco's 15th win this season against Gonzaga, Head Coach Nino Giarratano moved into 17th place on the WCC all-time career victories. After the win against San Diego on May 1st, Giarratano now has 140 career victories. One more win will put Coach Giarratano in a tie for 16th all-time.
CHASING THE STRIKEOUT RECORD: Senior pitcher Kevin Rose's career strikeout mark of 238 ranks fourth on the program's all-time strikeout list. The All-time record belongs to former USF All-American Dana Hendershott. Hendershott recorded 299 strikeouts from 1968-1971. His 14 career victories ties him with Ken Bowman (1972-1975) and Sean Buller (1995-1998) for 5th place all time.
GAERLAN AND JACOBITZ REACHING THE CHARTS: Seniors Joe Jacobitz and Armand Gaerlan are both rapidly approaching the top ten all-time hit list. With 235 all-time hits, Gaerlan is now #4 all-time at USF, passing Pat Walsh (1997-2000). With one more hit, Armand will tie Arnie Sambel (1987-1990) at #3 all time. The All-Time USF Dons hit record belongs to former USF All-American Taggert Bozied, who collected 287 hits from 1998-2001. Gaerlan is also sitting alone in 5th place with 117 career RBI's, one behind Tony Hurtado (1997-2000). Jacobitz has 203 hits, good for 8th all-time. Joe is also sitting in 6th place at 111 career RBI's.
TWO DIAMOND DONS MAKE THE RIVER CITY CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Seniors Joe Jacobitz and Kevin Rose were both named to the 2004 River City All-Tournament in Sacramento. Jacobitz hit .750 for the tournament, going 6-8, with a double, two runs batted in, and two runs scored. Rose went seven innings in his only start, giving up just four hits and striking out five to beat a strong Cal Poly team on February 20th.
SCOUTING THE BRONCOS: The Broncos are led at the plate by Nic Crosta. Crosta leads the regulars with a .386 average, 38 RBI, and 65 hits. He is also second on the team with nine home runs. Will Thompson leads the squad with 11 home runs on the season. AS a team, the Broncos are hitting .294. They have been outscored by their opponents 321-255. On the mound, the Broncos are sporting a team-ERA of 6.24. Their top starter is Kellan McConnell, who has a 4-6 record and a 5.82 ERA. Chad Fillinger is 4-8 with a 6.46. Santa Clara does have the top closer in WCC this season in Anthony Rae. Rea is 2-1, has a 2.05 ERA and a conference high 12 saves on the season.
UP NEXT FOR THE DIAMOND DONS: The Dons will travel to Portland next weekend for a three-game WCC series with the Pilots. Friday the first pitch is set for 3:00 PM, with Saturday and Sunday at 1:00 PM at Pilot Stadium. All games can be heard on www.Baysportsradio.com, with Ryan McCrary doing the play-by-play.
