May 22, 2008
TEAM NOTES (USF 31-26, 12-9 West Coast Conference) - Senior second baseman Joey Railey earned the first ever West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year Award. Railey committed an error in the very first game of the season, and then went 56 consecutive games without a miscue. - Six Dons made All-WCC teams in 2008, with Railey earning unanimous First Team honors. Joining Railey on the First Team is freshman LHP Matt Lujan and senior outfielder Kyle Morgan. Lujan and freshman outfielder Connor Bernatz were named to the All-Freshman team, while senior first baseman Mitchell Bialosky and senior LHP Matt Baugh earned Honorable Mention. - USF held its annual banquet in the Grand Room at the San Francisco Zoo and handed out team awards. All awards except for the Dante Benedetti (MVP) and Con Dempsey Jr (Late Bloomer) awards are voted on by the players.
o Jesse Foppert Award (Pitcher of the Year) - Senior LHP Matt Baugh
o Jermaine Clark Award (Defensive Player of the Year) - Senior INF Joey Railey
o Greg Moore Award (Most Inspirational) - Senior INF Tavo Hall
o Jonnie Knoble Award (Top Newcomer) - Freshman OF Connor Bernatz
o Con Dempsey Jr. Award (Late Bloomer) - Freshman LHP Matt Lujan & Freshman INF Stephen Yarrow
o Dante Benedetti Award (Team MVP) - Senior INF/RHP Mitchell Bialosky and Senior INF Joey Railey
- Evan Fredrickson and Mitchell Bialosky earn WCC Weekly honors. o Junior left-hander Evan Fredrickson earned West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week honors for his spectacular performance against No. 7 California in the 2008 Dante Benedetti Classic at AT&T Park, April 1. The Virginia Tech transfer threw 7.0 scoreless innings, scattering just four hits, while tossing a career high 13 strikeouts to earn his first WCC honor. o Senior first baseman/right-handed pitcher Mitchell Bialosky earned Player of the Week honors for May 5 - May 11 as announced by the West Coast Conference. In helping the Dons go 3-2, including a 2-1 series victory over then No. 8 San Diego, the Yorba Linda, CA native batted .526 (10-for-19) with three doubles, two homeruns, eight RBI and six runs scored. In two relief appearances on the mound, Bialosky went 1-0, 3.38 ERA, allowing just one run off two hits, with two strikeouts and just one walk in 2.2 innings. The Player of the Week accolade is the first for Bialosky. - San Francisco has reached the 30-win mark for just the sixth time since 1968 and the third time in the last four years, with 31 wins this season. In their record breaking 2006 season, the Dons won a Program high 39 games, and in 2005 earned 38 victories. They earned two 30+ win seasons in the 90's, with 34 in 1998 and 30 in 1996, and in 1971 USF won 32 games. - Benedetti Diamond has been a successful home ballpark for USF this season, with the Dons going an impressive 17-7 on the Hilltop. At home, the Dons bat .331 (284-for-858) with 64 doubles, seven triples, 17 homeruns, 164 RBI, and 180 runs scored. The pitchers have a 3.82 ERA compared with opponents 6.48.The hurlers have 202 strikeouts and hold opponents to just .251 batting. The Dons had a little tougher time away from Benedetti, going 13-19, but played 32 games on the road to just 24 at home. - USF finished fourth in West Coast Conference standings with a 12-9 record. No. 9 San Diego (16-5), No. 13 Pepperdine (14-6) and Santa Clara (13-9) were the only schools with better conference records. - After starting the season 8-10, the Dons went on an absolute tear, winning 13 of their next 14 games including streaks of seven (3/18-3/28) and six (3/30-4/8) wins. - USF won nine series this season, including an impressive five conference series. The Dons went 2-0 over Sacramento State, and UC Davis, 2-1 against UNLV, and 4-0 over Fairleigh Dickinson. In conference, USF swept Loyola Marymount 3-0, and took two wins against Saint Mary's, Portland, Gonzaga, and then No. 8 San Diego. - In their last ten games, the Dons went 4-6 but took impressive wins over then No. 6 Stanford and then No. 8 San Diego. In that span, USF batted .296 (109-for-368) with 13 doubles, three triples, and 12 homeruns (The 12 homeruns are nearly half of the Dons season total of 33). The pitchers had a 4.83 ERA and struck out 80 in 91.1 innings. - Pitchers earned a new USF record, striking out 400 opponents. Surpassing the previous mark of 389, set in 2002 and met in 2004. With 126 team doubles, the Dons missed the season high of 127 set in 2000 by just one two-bagger. - San Francisco played 13 games against ranked opponents this season, including nine against Top-10 teams. Overall, USF is 4-9, but is 4-5 against those ranked tenth or higher.
DONS TOP-25 RESULTS
o At No. 20 UC Irvine 4, USF 0 (2/29)
o At No. 20 UC Irvine 4, USF 0 (3/1)
o At No. 20 UC Irvine, 6, USF 0 (3/2)
o At No. 12 California 6, USF 2 (3/11)
o USF 5, No. 7 California 1 (4/1) [Dante Benedetti Classic at AT&T Park]
o At No. 9 Pepperdine 11, USF 2 (4/11)
o At No. 9 Pepperdine 11, USF 10 (4/12)
o At No. 9 Pepperdine 8, USF 5 (4/13)
o At No. 10 Stanford 11, USF 10 (4/16) [11 innings]
o At USF 13, No. 6 Stanford 9 (5/6)
o No. 8 San Diego 4, at USF 2 (5/9)
o At USF 6, No. 8 San Diego 3 (5/10)
o At USF 14, No. 8 San Diego 3 (5/11)
SENIORS SAY GOODBYE - Seven Diamond Dons said goodbye at the annual banquet, this year held in the Grand Room of the San Francisco Zoo. This group of seniors has won more games (135) than any other group. In 2008, these seniors helped the Dons to 31 victories, just the sixth time in 101 seasons that USF has won 30 or more, and the third time since the 2005 season. They also played significant parts in USF's first West Coast Conference Championship Series in school history and the first post-season appearance for the Dons during the 2006 season. o OF - Kyle Morgan - Morgan spent two years at Bakersfield College where he earned All-American and All-Conference honors. He then spent one season at Long Beach State before transferring to USF where he was a tremendous presence in the line up and in the outfield. In his first season as a Don, he's batting .298 with a team high 50 RBI, 15 doubles, one triple, and six homeruns. He crossed the plate 39 times and has six stolen bases. He holds a .957 fielding percentage and has made a team high six assists from the outfield. o RHP - Brian Anderson - Anderson transferred to USF for the 2006 season after lettering his freshman year at Ohlone College. In helping the Dons to their first ever WCC Championship, he was 6-0 on the mound in 2006, earning a big 8-2 win over eventual NCAA Champion Oregon State. For his three year career, he is 7-6 with a 5.28 ERA in 61 appearances with 11 starts. In 121 innings, he has struck out 73 batters. o DH - Matt Lieb - Lieb spent two years on the Hilltop after transferring from Fresno City College where he was a two-time All-Central Valley League selection. In 71 games played with 25 starts as a Don, he is batting .231 with five doubles, four homeruns, 23 RBI and 16 runs scored. He had his best game this season, going 3-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored in helping the Dons defeat then No. 6 Stanford 13-9 on May 6th. o LHP - Matt Baugh - Baugh came to San Francisco from the University of Arizona where he went 2-1 with one save in 26 appearances as a freshman and sophomore. In 2007, he finished the season 3-3, getting his final win in USF's exciting 11-10 victory over Saint Mary's in the season finale. As a senior, he transitioned into a starter's role, going 5-3 with a 4.00 ERA and two complete games, tops in the West Coast Conference. In a team and conference leading 101.1 innings, he has 58 strikeouts and just 21 walks. His career strikeout to walk ratio is an impressive 97-to-34. o INF/RHP - Mitchell Bialosky - Bialosky has spent his entire career on the Hilltop. On the mound this season, he moved from a starting role into the team's closer. He is 5-6 with a 4.50 ERA and a team high five saves in 23 appearances. In 64 innings, he owns a 51-11 strikeout to walk ratio. For his career, he is 6-10 in 31 appearances, 13 of them starts. In 93 innings, he has struckout 79 while walking just 19. When not pitching, he starts at first base and bats .326 with 76 hits (good for a 12th place tie on the single season hits chart), 15 doubles, a team high eight homeruns, and 38 RBI. For his career, he bats .300, with 193 hits (good for a 10th place tie on the Dons All-Time hits chart) in 644 at bats (7th), 35 doubles, one triple, 19 homeruns (8th), 112 RBI (7th), 33 walks, and two stolen bases. o INF - Joey Railey - Railey has also spent all four years on the Hilltop and currently holds nine places on various single season and All-Time charts in the Dons record book. This year he's batting .326, with a team high 78 hits (4th in conference and tied for 9th on USF's single season chart), a team high 18 doubles (3rd in conference, and tied for 5th on the single season charts), five homeruns, 39 RBI, 37 runs scored, a team high 34 walks, and nine stolen bases. His 730 career at bats are good enough for 4th place all time and this season's 239 put him in 4th place on the season list. He also owns a .996 fielding percentage, committing just one error in 57 games. For his career, he is batting .328 (tied for 13th all time) with 239 hits (tied for 3rd), 42 doubles (6th), four triples, eight homeruns, 104 RBI, 129 runs scored (9th), 106 walks (4th) and 37 stolen bases. He owned the longest hitting streak by any Don this season, at 18 games. He also led the team in multi-hit games with 28, seven of which were three hit days. o INF - Tavo Hall - Hall had much success both on the field and off. In a baseball career hampered by multiple injuries, he has bounced back and made an impact. This season, he's batting .267 with 46 hits, 14 doubles, one homerun, 28 RBI, 30 runs scored, and a team leading 11 stolen bases. For his career, he owns a .277 batting average, with 173 hits (15th place tie on the all time charts), 32 doubles, two homeruns, 76 RBI, 116 runs scored, 35 walks, and 49 stolen bases (7th). He has earned three USF Baseball Team academic awards and was a 2005 West Coast Conference Honorable Mention after batting .303 with 70 hits, 11 doubles, one homerun, 29 RBI, 43 runs scored and 16 stolen bases as a freshman. This season he earned his second consecutive CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VIII First Team with a 3.88 GPA in International Studies. Last season he was the recipient of the Charles Harney Award, given to the Athlete with the Highest GPA. The 2007 Class Valedictorian is also a member of the USF National Advisory Board and earned two WCC Honor Roll Gold honors. INDIVIDUAL NOTES - Freshman LHP Matt Lujan earned WCC First Team and WCC Freshman Team recognition for his spectacular first year on the Hilltop. Lujan led the Dons in conference play with a 5-2 record. He had a 4.19 ERA in seven starts, and struck out a team high 25 in 43.0 innings. Overall, he leads the team with a 7-2 record (sixth in conference) and a 3.19 ERA (eighth in conference) in 11 starts. In 79.0 innings (sixth in conference), Lujan struck out 51 and walked just 29, while holding opponents to a .255 batting average. His biggest games were: an 8.0 inning 6-0 combined shutout over Fairleigh Dickenson (five strikeouts-one walk); a 5-1 victory at Saint Mary's, 9.0 innings, three hits, one earned run, two strikeouts; a 14-3 victory over then No. 8 San Diego, 7.1 innings, two earned runs, six hits, seven strikeouts. - Freshman OF Connor Bernatz earned WCC Freshman Team honors after an outstanding frosh season. Bernatz is second on the team with a .347 batting average (66-for-190), with 10 doubles, one triple, two homeruns, 26 RBI, 28 runs scored, 14 walks, and three stolen bases. He was the only Don with five hits in a game, accomplishing the feat twice. First at Fresno State: five hits, one RBI, one run scored. Second at Gonzaga: five hits, one RBI. Had 17 total multi-hit games (two - 10 times; three - four times; four - once; five - twice). - Junior left-hander Evan Fredrickson finished the regular season with a team leading (2nd in conference) 109 strikeouts in 75.1 innings. In his first season as a Don, he put himself into the season record books, tying Dana Hendershott (1971) at third place. He is only 50 K's away from breaking into the career top 10. On the season, Fredrickson is 5-3, 4.54 ERA in 15 appearances (14 starts), with a team low .216 opponents batting average.
- Sophomore catcher Ryan Lipkin leads all Dons with a .384 batting average, all while handling the pitching staff behind the dish. In 52 games (47 starts), Lipkin is 66-for-172 with nine doubles, two homeruns, 21 RBI, 34 runs scored, 15 walks, and two stolen bases. He is third on the team with 22 multi-hit games (15 with two, seven with three).
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