Diamond Dons Face WCC Foe Pepperdine In Three-Game Weekend Set
5/2/2012 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Dons Head South to Challenge Pepperdine Waves - After cruising past Sacramento State, San Francisco resumes play in Malibu
THIS WEEK: After cruising past Sacramento State in a convincing 10-1 victory on Tuesday, the Dons are set to head south and take on the Pepperdine Waves in a three-game WCC series. The series opener against the Waves is on Friday, May 4 at 3:00 p.m., while Saturday and Sunday's games will be held at 1:00 p.m. at Eddy D. Field in Malibu, CA. The Waves are 24-17 and 7-5 in WCC play are are 6-4 in their last 10 games.
WEEK THAT WAS: The Dons went 2-2 last week from April 24-28. The Dons fell to Big West member UC Davis in a close game, 5-2, before welcoming BYU for the first time as a WCC member. The Dons took two of three from BYU and easily could have swept the Cougars at Benedetti Diamond. San Francisco's starting rotation (Kyle Zimmer, Alex Balog, and Abe Bobb) combined for a 0.44 ERA (1 er, 20.2 ip) with 23 strikeouts against just seven walks against BYU. San Francisco has now won three straight WCC series in a row and look to make it four in a row against the Waves this weekend.
LOOKING AHEAD: After playing Pepperdine, the Dons face eventual WCC member Pacific in Sacramento before hosting the Santa Clara Broncos in a three-game weekend series at the friendly confines of Benedetti Diamond. Game one against Santa Clara is set for Friday, May 11, at 3:00 p.m.
GOLDEN SPIKES WATCH LIST: Junior RHP Kyle Zimmer was named to the 60-Man Midseason Golden Spikes Award Watch List on Tuesday. The La Jolla, Calif., native leads the WCC in shutouts (2), strikeouts (85), and strikeouts per nine innings (10.02).
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SCOUTING PEPPERDINE: Pepperdine enters Friday's contest with a 24-17 overall record and an impressive 7-5 WCC mark. Over their last 10 games, the Waves are 6-4, including series wins over Portland and Santa Clara, where they took two of three. On Tuesday, Pepperdine lost an extra-inning battle against Cal Poly, 2-1. The Waves are led offensively by second baseman Joe Sever (.370/.447/.962). On the mound, Jon Moscot (4-4, 3.11) leads the Waves with an impressive K:BB ratio of 70:15.
LAST TIME VS. PEPPERDINE: USF swept the 2011 series at Bendetti Diamond - 3-2, 7-2, and 8-6. In the Sunday finale, Pete Lavin went 3-for-5 with three RBI and Stephen Yarrow went 2-for-5 with two RBI. Cameron Love earned the win, tossing 2.0 scoreless innings in relief of Jordan Remer.
LAST THREE SEASONS: The Dons hold a 5-4 advantage over the Waves in the last three seasons. The two teams traded sweeps over the past two years, with USF sweeping a three-game set in 2011 and Pepperdine doing the same in 2010. In the 2009 series, the Dons took two out of three games, winning the first game in convincing fashion, 15-1 and the finale 4-2.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: Junior pitcher Kyle Zimmer was named a second team All-American in Baseball America's college preseason poll. The right-hander became the first Don to be named a preseason All-American since Tagg Bozied in 2000. More recently, Zimmer was named to the 60-Man Midseason Golden Spikes Award Watch List on May 1.
Zimmer had a terrific March, tossing back-to-back compete game shutouts against Hawaii and UCSB. Against the Rainbows, Zimmer stuck out 11 and allowed only three hits en route to his first win of the 2012 season. On March 24, Zimmer blanked the Gauchos, striking out nine and walking only one to propel the Dons to a 2-0 victory.
Zimmer has been equally impressive in April, going at least 7.0 innings in each of his four starts against WCC opponents, going 2-1. Against No. 30 Gonzaga, Zimmer went 8.0 strong innings, striking out 10 and walking only one en route to his fourth victory of the season. Against BYU, the righty pitched 7.0 innings allowing just one run, while striking out 10 and walking only two.
On the season, Zimmer is 4-3 record with a 2.71 ERA. The La Jolla, Calif., native leads the WCC in shutouts (2), strikeouts (85), and strikeouts per nine innings (10.02). Zimmer's three complete games rank third, while his 2.71 ERA ranks 10th. The 6-4, 220-pound righty's .227 batting average against ranks seventh in the conference. Zimmer has shown exceptional control on the mound issuing only 13 walks in 76.1 innings pitched and ranks 17th in the nation with a 85-to-13 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Dons RHP #10 Kyle Zimmer
H20 BOY: Junior reliever Elliott Waterman earned WCC Rawlings Pitcher of the Week honors for his 3 save weekend against Gonzaga. Waterman has been stellar for the Dons in 2012, posting seven saves (5th in the WCC), which is now tied for first place in the all-time single season record books at USF with Patrick McGuigan. The 6-5, 230-pound lefty is 3-1 and owns a gaudy 1.09 ERA and a near-perfect 34-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 33.0 innings pitched. Waterman's 22 appearances rank first on the team and are tied for third in the WCC.
JUSTIN'S TIME: College of San Mateo transfer Justin Maffei has been the Dons hottest hitter in 2012. The center fielder ranks first on the team in hits (53), runs scored (39), total bases (71), slugging pct. (.433), on-base pct. (.459), hit by pitch (14), and steals (20). Maffei also ranks first in the WCC in stolen bases having swiped 20 in 24 chances. In addition, Maffei ranks 2nd in runs scored (39), 2nd in on-base percentage (.459), 3rd in bases on balls (29), 9th in hits (53), and 10th in total bases (71) in the entire WCC.
ARMS RACE: The Dons' team ERA of 3.15 (147er, 419.2ip) ranks 4th in the WCC. The Dons' 377 strikeouts rank first in the Conference as does their 377-to-131 strikeout-to-walk ratio. USF has four pitchers with an ERA lower than 2.00 and eight under 3.00. In fact, the Dons' Friday, Saturday, and Sunday starters rank 8th, 9th, and 10th in the entire conference in ERA (Balog 2.54, Bobb 2.70, Zimmer 2.71)
SACRIFICE: Second baseman Jason Mahood's 16 sacrifice bunts rank fourth in the entire nation. Mahood came alive in the three-game series against LMU from April 13-15, racking up seven RBIs and going 5-for-13 (.385). Mahood's 24 RBIs rank second on the team. The second baseman's defense has been stellar once again, as the junior owns a .995 fielding percentage.
Dons second baseman #29 Jason Mahood
