Game No. 25
San Francisco Dons (9-15, 3-3 WCC) vs. UC Davis Aggies (13-7-1, 0-0 Big West)
March 24 | 2 p.m.
Benedetti Diamond | San Francisco, Calif.
LIVE STATS | VIDEO
 
SAN FRANCISCO—After a couple of one-run losses over the weekend, the Dons aim to rebound at home on Tuesday when they host UC Davis at 2 p.m.
 
FINDING THEIR GROOVE
The Dons are won three straight series and have won nine of their 13 game since beginning the season 0-10. That stretch includes two wins over No. 8 Oregon, a win over No. 24 California, taking two out of three against WCC rival Gonzaga, and a pair against UC Riverside.
 
ABOUT BENEDETTI DIAMOND
The Dons' home field is named after Dante Benedetti, USF's head coach from 1962 to 1980. Benedetti attended then-Saint Ignatius College from 1937 to 1940, during which he lettered in Baseball, Football, and Boxing. During his tenure as head coach, he accumulated 373 career wins, and has been inducted into the university's athletic hall of fame. Also during his tenure as head coach, the university wanted to cut the program for financial reasons. However to keep the program alive Benedetti agreed to lower his salary. For the remaining 16 years of his coaching career he was paid $1 a year. The field is also named after Max Ulrich, a benefactor of the University of San Francisco. Built in 1953, the facility has a capacity of 1,000 spectators. The venue was originally called simply Max Ulrich Field. After its 1953 construction, it was named after Max Ulrich, a San Francisco resident who donated in his will $358,000 to the university. The field took on its current name in 1980. In that year, Dons baseball coach Dante Benedetti retired after 29 years in charge of the program. The diamond was dedicated to him that same year. Until Nino Giarratano surpassed him in 2012, Benedetti was the program's all-time winningest coach, with 373 wins.

TICKETS
Tickets for Diamond Dons baseball are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors, and free for children 12 or younger. They can be purchased at the gate or online at USFDons.com/tickets.

PARKING
Street parking is available near Benedetti Diamond. Two-hour pakring is enforced in many parts of the neighborhood and runs until 6 p.m. Non-timed parking is also available but limited.
 
DUCK SEASON
The Dons have played their best baseball of the season over the last few days and it resulted in two wins over No. 8 Oregon at PK Park in Eugene, Ore. Sheldon Lee went 5.1 shutout innings in the opener to pick up the 4-1 win. In the second game, Brendan Hendriks and Derek Atkinson both drove in two and Sam Granoff kept the Ducks off balance as he went 6.1 innings and allowed two earned runs as part of the 8-2 victory.
 
CAGING THE GOLDEN BEARS
Sam Granoff was masterful against No. 24 California on Tuesday and he went 7+ innings, allowing one run on eight hits. Nico Giarratano had the game-winning hit with a two-run double in the eighth inning to put the Dons on top 3-1.
 
CECILIO ON FIRE
Christian Cecilio has been what many would expect from a senior starter. Over his last five starts, he has an ERA of 1.33 in 40.1 innings and struck out 36. This included a complete game shutout of Gonzaga on Saturday night. He scattered seven hits with nine strikeouts in the 2-0 victory. None of these outings have been shorter than seven innings.
 
SMILING SAM GRANOFF
Redshirt freshman Sam Granoff has been a welcomed surprise for the Dons so far this season. He has a team-best 1.96 ERA, has thrown 13.1 innings over his last two starts against two ranked teams (No. 8 Orgeon, No. 24 California) with a 2.02 ERA. 
 
HENDRIKS COMING ALIVE
Brendan Hendriks has turned it around since the beginning of West Coast Conference play. In the team's six WCC games, he is hitting .400 with a home run, five RBI, and an OPS of 1.048. He went 7-for-13 in the three games at Pacific over the weekend.
 
SHEW'S ENDURANCE
Anthony Shew has quickly established himself as one of the better and more durable pitchers in the conference and showed it against UC Riverside as he went eight shutout innings, scattered four hits, and struck out 10 in a 4-0 USF win. He has thrown at least eight innings in four of his six starts this season.
 
#DonsOTR
San Francisco has a grueling schedule that will have the team away from home for 36 of the team's 55 games, including a stretch of 12 straight and 19 of 23 to start the season. It will include trips to Texas Tech, New Mexico, Oregon, and Gonzaga.
 
TOUGH NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
The Dons may have one of the tougher non-conference schedules in the country. They play eight games against teams that are ranked in the top 35 in the country (Texas Tech, Oregon, Stanford), according to the NCBWA, and an additional five games against teams receiving votes. All the games against ranked teams will also be on the road.
 
HENDRIKS NAMED TOP 100 SENIOR
After a season where he was second on the team in slugging at .493, Brendan Hendriks has been named to Baseball America's Top 100 Seniors list and came in at 91. The senior from Alberta, Canada hit a career-high six home runs with 39 RBI in 2014, including a game-winner in the 19th inning at No. 2 Cal State Fullerton and a two-home run game against California.
 
ATKINSON NAMED TO ALL-WCC PRESEASON TEAM
Derek Atkinson was one of the team's more consistent hitters last season and his .330 average and 44 RBI earned him a spot on last year's All-West Coast Conference Team. That performance also has him on the All-WCC Preseason Team. He is one of only two seniors on the team.
 
NOW BATTING FOR THE DONS, MANNY RAMIREZ… JR.
It is the first season for Manny Ramirez, Jr. on the Hilltop after transferring from Central Arizona College. The son of the former MLB star Manny Ramirez, Manny Jr. had an impressive fall season and has gotten starts at DH and at first base. Entering the series, he is hitting .250 with a double and three RBI and had a critical two-run double against No. 8 Oregon.
 
GIARRATANO MOVING UP THE CHARTS
Head coach Nino Giarratano enters his 17th season at USF and has accumulated 466 wins over that time, which is the most in school history and is the third most in West Coast Conference history. He sits behind only John Cunningham (524, San Diego) and current San Diego and former USF coach Rich Hill (691).
 
CHRISTIAN ON THE MOUND
Christian Cecilio has been a regular presence in the Dons' rotation since his freshman season. He enters his senior year in striking distance of a number of USF records. Cecilio comes in this week with 48 career starts (2nd all-time), 265 innings (eighth), and 200 strikeouts (sixth). With one more start, he will become the school's all-time leader in the category, passing Matt Lujan (49, 2008-11).