USF Travels to Stanford Before Hosting Pepperdine for Three This Weekend

May 17, 2004

Games 5/18-5/23


Tuesday May 18, 2004 @ Stanford
Palo Alto, CA/ Sunken Diamond


Friday May 21, 2004 vs. Pepperdine
San Francisco, CA/ Benedetti Diamond 11:00 AM


Saturday May 22, 2004 vs. Pepperdine
San Francisco, CA/ Benedetti Diamond 1:00 PM

Sunday May 23, 2004 vs. Pepperdine
San Francisco, CA/ Benedetti Diamond 1:00 PM

USF WINS THREE STRAIGHT IN PORTLAND: USF (26-29, 13-14 WCC) will return home to play the last week of the regular season after sweeping the Portland Pilots over the weekend in three straight games. Junior Cy Donald led the Dons at the plate, going 7-for-13, with a double and five RBI. Senior Chris Genung had a fine series as well, going 5-for-13, with a double, a home run, and six RBI. Senior Joe Jacobitz went 5-for-11, a double and three RBI. On the mound, senior Derek Tate went the distance for the Dons Friday, striking out six in the 11-6 win. Senior Kevin Rose went six innings on Sunday to pick up his fifth win of the season, benefiting from a 12 run offensive outburst from the Dons, leading to a 14-2 win. The Dons outscored the Pilots 33-13 in the three game series.

USF TRAVELS SOUTH TO TAKE ON THE STANFORD CARDINAL TUESDAY BEFORE HOSTING PEPPERDINE IN THE SEASON-ENDING SERIES THIS WEEKEND: USF will begin the last week of the season Tuesday when they travel to Palo Alto take on the #1 ranked Stanford Cardinal. Stanford (39-9) is currently playing a three-game series with the Arizona Wildcats in Tucson. Saturday, the Cardinal edged the Wildcats 11-9. On Sunday, Arizona came from three runs down in the final frame to take Stanford 19-18 in a wild contest that was settled on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth inning. The same two teams do battle Monday afternoon in Tucson. Friday, the Diamond Dons begin their final series of the 2004 campaign when they host West Coast Conference foe Pepperdine in a three-games series. The Waves (23-29, 17-10 WCC) are coming off a weekend in Santa Clara, which saw the Broncos sweep a three game series at Buck Shaw Stadium. In Friday's match up, the Broncos came back to score two runs in the final frame to win the game 5-4. Saturday's game was more of the same, as the Broncos once again came back late to take a 6-5 come-from-behind decision from the Waves. The Broncos completed the sweep of the Waves Sunday with an 11-3 victory.

LISTEN TO ALL FOUR GAMES LIVE ON THE INTERNET: As usual, this week's games can all be heard live on www.usfdons.com. Listen as Ryan McCrary and Mark Papadopoulos call the action live from Sunken Diamond Tuesday and the last three regular season games of 2004 from Benedetti Diamond this weekend.

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 .350, going 44-for-126. 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 .341 over that span, going 15-for-44, with three doubles, a home run, nine runs scored and eight RBI. Genung, the conference's second-leading hitter, hit .356 over the last 10 games, with four of his conference leading 22 doubles, three home runs and 16 RBI.

DONS HURLERS GETTING IT DONE: The USF pitching staff continues to perform well as the WCC season rolls on. USF is second in the conference with a 4.72 ERA, fewest walks allowed (149) and runs allowed (298). Opposing hitters are hitting .282 against the Dons, the second lowest average in the league. TJ Franco, Kevin Rose, and Derek Tate tied for fifth in the conference with five wins, followed by Ryan Muller with four. Tate's 3.67 ERA ranks fifth in the conference. With 85 strikeouts, Kevin Rose ranks third in the WCC.

USF AT THE PLATE: At .313, the Diamond Dons are tied for second with Pepperdine in the conference for team batting average, behind only San Diego (.319). USF leads the conference with 630 hits and are second in runs scored (350), RBI (317), and total bases (830). Chris Genung is second in the WCC in hitting (.373) RBI (51) and hits (84) and leads the conference in doubles with 22. Genung and Stefan Gartrell are tied for fourth in the conference in home runs with six and Nick Cirbo is tied for fifth 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 61. At the top of the list is sophomore Andrew Smith has the team lead with 12 steals on the season, followed by sophomore Jonnie Knoble with 11. 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.

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 84 base hits this season, one of the record. Gaerlan is just four hits behind him at 80. Jacobitz broke Taggert Bozied's record of 81 hits in his first season on the Hilltop.

GENUNG TIES THE SINGLE SEASON DOUBLES MARK: Chris Genung has tied the single season mark of 22, set by Dustin Delucchi in 2000.

GAERLAN'S HIT STREAK REACHES A USF RECORD 23 GAMES: After knocking out a single in USF's 14-2 win over Portland, Armand Gaerlan's hit streak has reached 23 games, a new USF record. In 2000 Taggert Bozied and Dustin Delucchi both recorded 22 game hitting streaks for the Dons.

SCOUTING THE CARDINAL: In 48 games this season, the #1 ranked Stanford Cardinal are hitting .331 as a team, outscoring opponents 433-224. The Cardinal have hit a whopping 84 home runs this season, more than double then their opponents (40). Leading the way is Jed Lowrie. Lowrie is hitting .410, with 16 home runs, 63 RBI, 18 doubles, and 63 runs scored, all team highs. Danny Putnam is hitting .398, with 14 home runs and 50 RBI, tied for third on the team. On the mound, Mark Romanczuk is the #1 starter for the Cardinal. Romanczuk is sporting a 10-1 record in 14 starts in 2004. His 3.93 ERA and 82 strikeouts are tops among Stanford's starters. Jeff Gilmore is 8-2 with a 4.89 ERA and 55 strikeouts. As a team, the Cardinal have an ERA of 4.27.

SCOUTING THE WAVES: The WCC West division leading Pepperdine Waves are hitting .303 as a team and are outscoring their opponents 314-307. Chad Tracy leads the team with 11 home runs on the year and has driven in 32 runs this season. Brent Lewis is hitting .326 on the year with seven home runs and a team high 43 RBI. Steve Kleen is a very valuable player for the Waves at the plate, as well as on the mound. Kleen is hitting .348, second on the waves, and has hit four home runs and driven in 42 runs. Kleen is also the closer for the Waves, with seven on the season, third in the WCC. The top starter for the Waves this season has been Jacob Barrack, with an 8-2 record and a 3.17 ERA and 92 strikeouts, both near the top of the conference leaders. The team has an ERA of 5.01 this season and has an overall opponent's batting average of .302

TEAM LEADERS:

Batting
Batting Average (min 100 ab's) - Chris Genung  .373
Home Runs -Stefan Gartell / Chris Genung 6
RBI - Chris Genung 51
Runs - Armand Gaerlan 42
Hits - Chris Genung 84
Doubles - Chris Genung 22
Stolen Bases - Andrew Smith 12


Pitching
Wins - TJ Franco/Derek Tate/Kevin Rose  5
ERA (min. 45 inn.) - Patrick McGuigan 2.76
Strikeouts - Kevin Rose 85
Saves - Patrick McGuigan 6
Complete Games - Derek Tate 3

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		6th


Hits:
Chris Genung	84		2nd
Armand Gaerlan 	80		3rd


Home Runs:
Stefan Gartrell	6		4th
Chris Genung	6		4th


Runs Batted In:
Chris Genung	51		3rd
Armand Gaerlan	39		6th


Doubles:
Chris Genung	22		1st


On Base Percentage:
Armand Gaerlan	.431		4th
Chris Genung	.418		9th


Total Bases:
Chris Genung	124		1st
Armand Gaerlan	103		 8th


Stolen Bases:
Andrew Smith	12		4th
Jonnie Knoble	11		5th


Pitching Categories:

Wins:
TJ Franco		5		 5th
Kevin Rose		5		 5th
Derek Tate		5		 5th


ERA:
Derek Tate		3.67		4th


Strikeouts:
Kevin Rose		85		3rd
Derek Tate		73		6th


Saves:
Patrick McGuigan	6		3rd


WCC TEAM CATEGORIES:

Offensive Categories:

Team Batting Average	.313		2nd
Runs				350		2nd
Hits				630		1st
RBI				317		2nd
Sac				44		2nd
Stolen Bases			60		1st


Pitching Categories:

Wins				26		3rd
ERA				4.72		2nd
Hits Allowed			536		3rd
Runs Allowed		298		2nd
Walks	Allowed		149 		2nd
Opposing Average		.283		2nd

NEWS AND NOTES:

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 Portland on May 16th, Giarratano now has 144 career victories.

ROSE CHASING THE STRIKEOUT RECORD: Senior pitcher Kevin Rose's career strikeout mark of 251 ranks fourth on the program's all-time strikeout list, just one behind Peter Dunkle, who played for the Dons from 1999-2002. The All-time record belongs to former USF All-American Dana Hendershott. Hendershott recorded 299 strikeouts from 1968-1971. His 15 career victories ties him with Dunkle and Rich Igou (1995-1997) for 3rd 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 245 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 121 career RBI's, three behind Jason Howard in 3rd. Howard drove in 124 runs in his career (1998-2003). Jacobitz has 210 hits, good for 8th all-time. Joe is also sitting in 6th place at 114 career RBI's.

Patrick McGuigan TIES THE SINGLE SEASON SAVES MARK: With his save in USF's 4-2 win over Santa Clara on Saturday, May 8th, 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.

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.

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.