The real story however, is to be found in the pitching of Dan Merolla, a 6' 0" 180 lb. junior out of San Francisco. He threw for 9 innings, allowing only 5 hits, 1 unearned run, striking out 9 Gael batters, and perhaps most important, walked none. In the 36 innings Dan has worked he has walked only 5 men, a record worthy of the excellent control pitcher that he is.
Merolla in relief pitched two innings allowing just one run, that also being unearned. The Dons scored all of their runs in the second inning as O'Leary and Spediacci drove in runs with a single and double respectively.
Don Benedetti is at present the 4th leading batter in the league, hitting at a phenomenal .486 (17-35). Bill Downing is in 11th position batting .343 (12-35). Dan Merolla has an outstanding ERA of 1.30 and has one victory as opposed to no losses. As a team USF is fourth in league play batting .237. However, pitching is where the story can be told as to the dismal year the Diamond Dons have had. In WCAC play the Dons are dead last allowing 5.13 runs to cross the plate every nine innings. It should be noted here that Bill Downing is tied for the leadership in home runs at 2 (TheFoghorn).
