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USF Baseball Gears Up for the Portland Road Trip This Weekend
May 12, 2004
Friday May 14, 2004 @ Portland
Portland, OR/ Pilot Stadium 3:00 PM
Saturday May 15, 2004 @ Portland
Portland, OR/ Pilot Stadium 1:00 PM
Sunday May 16, 2004 @ Portland
Portland, OR/ Pilot Stadium 1:00 PMGames 5/11-5/17
USF DROPS TWO OF THREE TO SANTA CLARA: USF (23-29, 10-14 WCC) squared of with Bay Area rival Santa Clara for a three-game West Coast Conference series this past weekend at Benedetti Diamond. In the first game of the series, the Broncos scored early and often, scoring 17 runs on 17 hits, knocking of the Dons 17-5. USF came right back on Saturday and received a great performance on the mound from senior Derek Tate. Tate went eight and a third innings, allowing two runs on six hits, striking out a career-high 10 hitters. Chris Genung led the way with a three-run home run. In Sunday's rubber match, the Dons took a one-run lead into the ninth, only to see Santa Clara score five times in the inning to secure the 7-3 win, winning the 2004 yearly series 4-2.
THE DIAMOND DONS TRAVEL TO THE NORTHWEST TO TAKE ON PORTLAND IN WCC ACTION: This weekend the Dons travel north to take on the Portland Pilots in a three game series, beginning Friday afternoon at 3:00 PM. All three games can be heard on Internet radio with Ryan McCrary handling the play-by-play. The Pilots (10-36, 5-19 WCC) are coming off an ugly series at Pepperdine in which the Waves outscored Portland 27-4. In March, the Pilots came to town to play three and were swept by the Dons.
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 .344, going 43-for-125. Jacobitz raised his batting average over 60 points in the month of April. He is hitting .351 over the last 10 games, going 13-for-37, with three doubles and six RBI. Gaerlan has hit .372 over that span, going 16-for-43, with three doubles, a home run, eight runs scored and seven RBI. Genung, the conference's second-leading hitter, hit .311 over the last 10 games, with four of his conference leading 21 doubles, two home runs and 13 RBI.
DONS HURLERS GETTING IT DONE: The USF pitching staff continues to perform well as the WCC season rolls on. The Diamond Dons pitching staff lead the conference in fewest walks allowed (138) and are third in the conference in runs allowed (285). Opposing hitters are hitting .287 against the Dons, the second lowest average in the league. TJ Franco is fourth in the conference with five wins, followed by Ryan Muller, Kevin Rose, and Derek Tate with four. Tate's 3.45 ERA ranks fourth in the conference. With 77 strikeouts, Kevin Rose ranks third in the WCC.
USF AT THE PLATE: At .305, the Diamond Dons are tied for second with Pepperdine in the conference for team batting average, behind only San Diego (.317). USF is second the conference with 578 hits and are third in runs scored (317), RBI (285), and total bases (761). Chris Genung is second in the WCC in hitting (.373) and hits (79) and leads the conference in doubles with 21. Stefan Gartrell is tied for fourth in the conference in home runs with six and Nick Cirbo is tied for with five home runs.
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 57. At the top of the list are sophomores Andrew Smith with 11 and Jonnie Knoble with 10. 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.
Patrick McGuigan TIES THE SINGLE SEASON SAVES MARK: With his save Saturday afternoon in USF's 4-2 win over Santa Clara, Patrick McGuigan notched his sixth save of the season, tying him with Chuck Nat for the single season high. Nat saved six games for the Dons in 1982.
Chris Genung AND Armand Gaerlan APPROACH THE SINGLE SEASON HIT MARK: Seniors Chris Genung and Armand Gaerlan are both rapidly approaching the single season hit mark of 85, set by Joe Jacobitz in 2002. Genung leads the Dons with 79 base hits this season. Gaerlan is just four hits behind him at 75. Jacobitz broke Taggert Bozied's record of 81 hits in his first season on the Hilltop. Genung is also one double away from tying the single season mark of 22, set by Dustin Delucchi in 2000.
TEAM LEADERS:Batting Batting Average (min 100 ab's) - Chris Genung .373 Home Runs -Stefan Gartell 6 RBI - Chris Genung 45 Runs - Armand Gaerlan 38 Hits - Chris Genung 79 Doubles - Chris Genung 21 Stolen Bases - Andrew Smith 11
Pitching Wins - TJ Franco 5 ERA (min. 45 inn.) - Patrick McGuigan 2.91 Strikeouts - Kevin Rose 77 Saves - Patrick McGuigan 6 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 .373 2nd Armand Gaerlan .356 8th
Hits: Chris Genung 79 2nd Armand Gaerlan 75 3rd
Home Runs: Stefan Gartrell 6 5th Nick Cirbo 5 6th
Runs Batted In: Chris Genung 45 3rd Armand Gaerlan 38 8th
Doubles: Chris Genung 21 1st
On Base Percentage: Armand Gaerlan .446 4th Chris Genung .423 8th
Total Bases: Chris Genung 115 2nd Armand Gaerlan 98 8th
Stolen Bases: Andrew Smith 11 4th Jonnie Knoble 10 5th
Pitching Categories:
Wins: TJ Franco 5 5th Kevin Rose 4 6th Derek Tate 4 6th Ryan Muller 4 6th
ERA: Derek Tate 3.45 4th
Strikeouts: Kevin Rose 77 3rd Derek Tate 67 6th
Saves: Patrick McGuigan 6 3rd
WCC TEAM CATEGORIES:
Offensive Categories:
Team Batting Average .307 2nd Runs 317 2nd Hits 575 2nd RBI 286 3rd Sac 41 1st Stolen Bases 57 1st
Pitching Categories:
Wins 23 2nd ERA 4.81 3rd Hits Allowed 517 5th Runs Allowed 285 3rd Walks Allowed 138 1st Opposing Average .287 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 Santa Clara on May 8th, Giarratano now has 141 career victories.
CHASING THE STRIKEOUT RECORD: Senior pitcher Kevin Rose's career strikeout mark of 241 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 tie 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 moving up the lists in the USF all-time record books. With 240 all-time hits, Gaerlan is now #3 all-time at USF. 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 4th place with 120 career RBI's, four behind Jason Howard in 3rd. Howard drove in 124 runs in his career (1998-2003). Jacobitz has 205 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 PILOTS: Portland is led at the plate by Travis Vetters. Vetters is hitting .353 this season, the best on the Pilot's roster this season. His 65 hits, 30 RBI, 29 runs scored, and seven stolen bases are also team highs this season. Jeffrey Crinklaw and Justin Pierce share the team lead in home runs with three. For the season, the Pilots are being outscored by their opponents 385-194. On the mound, the Pilots are sporting a 7.33 ERA, last in the WCC. Matthew Peters and Sean Sargent share the team lead with three wins a piece. Their opponents are hitting .342 on the season.
UP NEXT FOR THE DIAMOND DONS: USF will travel to Palo Alto Tuesday night for a match up with the second ranked Stanford Cardinal. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:00 PM at Sunken Diamond. The Dons then finish up the 2004 regular season at home with a three game series against the Pepperdine Waves. The series begins with a 11:00 AM game Friday May 21st. Please note that this game was originally scheduled for a 3:00 PM first pitch. Saturday and Sunday's contest are scheduled for a 1:00 PM first pitch. All games can be heard on www.Baysportsradio.com, with Ryan McCrary and Mark Papadopoulos doing the play-by-play.
