Video Preview | Championship Central | Game Notes
SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Diamond Dons will head to Stockton this week to take part in the inaugural West Coast Conference Baseball Championship, March 23-25 at Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton, Calif. The Dons finished in a three-way tie for second in the conference, but lost tiebreakers to BYU and San Diego to earn the fourth-seed in the tournament.
The Dons take on Gonzaga in the first game of the tournament Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m. in the double-elimination format. The bracket follows:
USF played a three-game series on the road against Gonzaga, BYU and San Diego this season. The Dons took 2-of-3 from the Toreros in San Diego, and dropped 2-of-3 to the Zags in Spokane and the Cougars in Provo.
The Dons will play at least 11, and as many as 13 games this season against the three teams without being the home team. As the 4-seed, USF will be the road team in each tournament game.
Thursday and Friday's games will be televised on the WCC Network. The championship game will be played Saturday at 7 p.m. and televised on ESPNU.
All USF games will be called by Roberto Saenz and Max Harris and will be available at USFDons.com/live
TRANSFER OF POWER - Zachary Turner drove in 28 runs in April and added 14 in May. Turner finished second in the WCC in RBIs (60) and hits (71). The junior ranked third in batting average (.351), fifth in slugging percentage (.545) and was fourth with eight home runs.
DOUBLE TROUBLE - Bob Cruikshank led the WCC with 19 doubles. The sophomore is 11-for-25 (.440) in his last eight games with three runs scored and eight RBIs.
MIDDLE OF THE PACK - USF ranked sixth in the West Coast Conference with a .265 batting average. The Dons tied for the conference lead in doubles (97), and were fourth in home runs (26) and third in total bases (674). The Dons pitching staff ranked second in the conference in ERA (3.38), third in batting average against (.256), third in runs allowed (211), second in innings pitched (481.2) and first in walks allowed (131).
MOUND PRESENCE - Senior
Haden Hinkle was 8-1, with a 1.60 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 67.2 innings pitched. Hinkle led the WCC in ERA and batting average against (.194). His eight wins were good for third, and he posted a remarkable 0.89 WHIP.
HEATING UP - Bradley Zimmer raised his average 22 points in May to .335, going 12-for-26 in eight games with 11 runs scored and seven RBIs. The sophomore reached base in 21-of-35 plate appearances, drawing seven walks and being hit by two pitches.
