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NCAA Regional
PK Park • Eugene, Ore.
USF Dons (34-22, 15-9 WCC) vs. Rice Owls (41-17, 15-9 Conference USA)
Friday, May 31, 2013 • 2:00 p.m. PT
RHP Haden Hinkle (9-1, 1.83 ERA) vs. RHP Austin Kubitza (8-4, 2.03 ERA)
Series Record: First Meeting
Radio: USFDons.com/live
TV/Web: ESPN3 (Brett Dolan and Randy Flores)
Dons Briefs
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USF is seeded third in the Eugene Regional where it will face No. 2 seed Rice Friday afternoon at PK Park.
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Top-seeded and host Oregon meets fourth seed South Dakota State at 6:00 p.m.
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The winner of the Eugene Regional advances to meet the winner of the Raleigh Regional next weekend.
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The Dons are making their third NCAA Regional appearance (2006 and '11)…are 2-4 in regional play with wins over top-seeds Nebraska in 2006 and UCLA in '11.
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Are now 34-22 overall on the season after advancing to the championship game of the inaugural West Coast Conference Championship tournament last week in Stockton…defeated top-seeded Gonzaga, 8-5 on Friday and No. 2 seed San Diego, 10-8 on Friday to advance to the title game, where the Dons were shutout by the Toreros, 2-0.
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USF's 34 wins are tied with San Diego for most in the WCC and tied for third most in program history.
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Are 12-4 over the last 16 games and 20-7 over the last 27 dating back to April 6.
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Dons went 20-12 in true road games this season, including wins at Oregon State, Arizona, TCU, San Diego State, Cal and Stanford.
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The Dons rank fourth in the WCC in average (.267), slugging (.371), on-base percentage (.348) and home runs (28)…squad ranks third in runs scored (280).
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USF hurlers rank second in the WCC in ERA at 3.46 and third in opponent batting average (.258)…have walked just 142 batters this season, the lowest total in the WCC.
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Right fielder Bradley Zimmer ranks in the WCC's top-10 in eight offensive categories, including average (.335; 6th), slugging percentage (.456; 3rd), runs scored (47; 3rd), hits (63; 10th), RBI (36; 8th), walks (29; 5th) and stolen bases (18; 2nd).
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First baseman Zachary Turner ranks second in the WCC in RBI with 62 – one behind San Diego's Kris Bryant.
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Turner also ranks fourth in home runs (8), fifth in hits (72), sixth in slugging (.516) and average (.335) and fourth in total bases (111).
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Senior Haden Hinkle (9-1, 1.83 ERA) is tied for first in the WCC in wins and boasts the second-lowest ERA in the conference…he has also limited hitters to a conference low .197 batting average…of his 18 appearances on the year, 14 have come in relief.
Broadcast Information
All games from the Eugene Regional will be televised in ESPN3, with Brett Dolan (play-by-play) and Randy Flores (analysis) calling the action.
USF Viewing Party
All are invited to a viewing party at The Pub at Ghirardelli Square to watch Friday's USF-Rice game at 2:00 p.m. Enjoy refreshment specials and food. The Pub at Ghirardelli Square is located at 851 Beach Street between Polk and Larkin.
Eugene Regional
USF opens play in the Eugene Regional against the Rice Owls (41-17) of Conference USA on Friday at 2:00 p.m. PT. The top-seeded Oregon Ducks (45-14) will face fourth seed South Dakota State (35-22) of the Summit Conference at 6:00 p.m. Saturday's game times are also at 2:00 and 6:00 p.m. PT, with the early game serving as the elimination game. Sunday's games are set for 12 noon (elimination) and 6:00 p.m. (possible championship). If the regional champion is not determined on Sunday, there will be one additional game played on Monday at 6:00 p.m. The winner of the Eugene Regional will meet the winner of the Raleigh Regional next weekend. The 67
th College World Series begins on June 14 in Omaha, Nebraska.
Tale of the Tape
USF Rice
Record 34-22 41-17
Average .267 .282
Home Runs 28 24
Runs 280 310
Doubles 99 82
Triples 8 13
Home Runs 28 24
ERA 3.46 2.72
Series Information
USF has never met Rice or South Dakota State and are 0-7 all-time vs. Oregon.
USF's Postseason History
The Dons are making their third NCAA Regional appearance, including showings in 2006 and '11. USF is 2-4 all-time in regional play, with both wins coming against top-seeds. In 2006, the Dons dropped an 11-2 decision in the opener to second-seeded Miami but bounced back to eliminate top-seed Nebraska, 5-1. Two years ago in the Los Angeles Regional, USF blanked top-seeded UCLA, 3-0 behind the pitching of
Kyle Zimmer before suffering losses to UC Irvine and UCLA.
West Coast Conference Championship Review
USF advanced to the title game of the inaugural West Coast Conference Championship tournament last weekend in Stockton, where the Dons were shutout by San Diego, 2-0. USF opened the tournament with a 8-5 victory over Gonzaga and then rallied from a 6-0 deficit to defeat San Diego, 8-6 on a three-run, walk-off home run by sophomore
Derek Atkinson. San Diego defeated BYU to advance to the championship game, where freshman Troy Conyers tossed a complete game, three-hit shutout against the Dons.
The Win Total
USF's 34 wins are tied with San Diego for the most among West Coast Conference teams. The win total is also tied for third all-time in program history with the 1998 squad, trailing only the marks of 2006 (39-23) and 2005 (38-18) teams. USF's 15 conference wins are tied for third all-time behind the 2005 (20-10) and '11 teams (16-5).
Dons Offensively
USF ranks fourth in the WCC in average (.267), home runs (28), slugging percentage (.371) and on-base percentage (.348), while ranking third in runs scored (280) and fifth in walks (183).
On the Mound
USF ranks second in the WCC in earned run average with a mark of 3.46. Dons hurlers also limited the opposition to a .258 batting average, the third lowest mark among conference staffs. USF's 348 strikeouts rank fourth among WCC teams. The Dons lead the conference with 14 saves.
With the Leather
USF leads the WCC in fielding percentage at .780, making just 62 errors in 2,255 total chances.
Good Trends
The Dons are 29-6 on the season when they score four or more runs and 25-3 when scoring first. USF is 25-1 in games when leading after seven innings.
Zimmer Heating Up
Bradley Zimmer is 16-for-38 (.421) over his last 11 games with 15 runs score and 11 RBI, raising his average 22 points to its present mark of .335. The sophomore leads the Dons in average (.335), runs scored (47), slugging (.543), on-base percentage (.456), walks (29), stolen bases (18) and triples (3; tie). He ranks second on the team in home runs (7) and RBI (36).
Turner Terrific
First baseman Zachary Turner tops the club in hits (72), RBI (62), home runs (8) and total bases (111).
About the Rice Owls
Rice won the Conference USA's regular season and tournament champions…Rice has won or shared a total of 18-straight conference championships dating back to 1996 covering membership in three leagues…ranked 16
th by USA Today/ESPN and 20
th by Baseball America…ride a nine-game winning streak into Eugene…Owls are making their 19
th straight NCAA Regional appearance…won the 2003 College World Series…four-time national coach of the year Wayne Graham is in his 22
nd year at Rice and his 33
rd season as a collegiate head coach…he owns a 994-397 record with the Owls…batting .282 as a team with 24 home runs…third baseman Shane Hoelscher leads the team in hitting with a .339 average…designated hitter Michael Aquino leads the team in RBI with 42, followed closely by Michael Ratterree with 41…Ratterree also leads team in home runs with nine…staff boasts a 2.72 ERA and has struck out 453 batters in 535.2 innings this season…have turned 67 double plays this season, the fifth-highest total in the nation.
