May 20, 2003

(San Francisco) - USF baseball hosted their annual 2003 Diamond Dons Banquet Monday, May 20 at Fior d' Italia Restaurant in North Beach. USF recognized the accomplishments of a team that posted the second highest amount of West Coast Conference victories (17) in school history and celebrated the careers of eight seniors.

Team awards detailed below.

Team MVP (Dante Benedetti Award) -
Jason Howard (Sr., OF) & Armand Gaerlan (Jr., INF)
Pitcher of the Year (Joe Nelson/Jesse Foppert Award) -
Kevin Annis (Sr. RHP)
Best Defensive Player (Green & Gold Glove) -
Jason Howard (Sr., OF) & Armand Gaerlan (Jr., INF)
Newcomer of the Year (Yellow Dog Award) -
Jonnie Knoble (Fr., OF)
Most Inspirational Player (Greg Moore Award) -
Anthony Jimenez (Sr., C)

USF BASEBALL TEAM HIGHLIGHTS 2003:

- USF's 17-13 record in West Coast Conference play was the second best mark for total wins and winning percentage in program history (Best 1998, 18-12...) since joining the conference in 1968

- San Francisco posted a 10-5 record on the road during WCC action, the best mark achieved in team history

- USF collected four series sweeps in 2003 - San Jose State, at Gonzaga, at Saint Mary's, Portland and seven series victories (SJSU, GU, UP, SMC, San Diego, Loyola Marymount (2x)

- San Francisco finished the league season strong, winning three of their last four WCC series, two of them sweeps (SMC & UP)

- USF posted the lowest number of errors (80) and turned in the best overall fielding percentage (.963) since 1996 (67/.967)

- The Diamond Dons posted the fewest errors (31) in the WCC in 2003 during league action and also boasted the best fielding percentage (.974)

- USF swept the season series against Bay Area rival San Jose State for the first time in memory (records researched back to 1975)

- Dons rated third in the league (overall games) in runs (340)

- In WCC games USF ranked second in runs scored (198) and earned more walks than any team (122)

- In WCC games, USF pitching allowed the third fewest hits (306)

- USF pitching allowed just 202 walks in 2003, tying the third lowest total tallied since 1968 - (1975 - 187; 2001 - 201)

- The Diamond Dons have won two out of their last three at Sunken Diamond against perennial national power Stanford

- USF finished 1.0 game back in the West Division standings in the West Coast Conference race and were competing for the West crown in the final week of the season the latest the Dons have ever been alive for a chance at the postseason

- USF's schedule featured no fewer than 16 contests against teams ranked in the 2003 NCAA Division I top-25 polls (UC Riverside, Texas Tech, Cal, Stanford, Pepperdine)