University of San Francisco Athletics

Game No. 29
San Francisco Dons (11-17, 5-4 WCC) at Stanford Cardinal (10-14, 0-6 Pac-12)
March 29 | 5:30 p.m.
Sunken Diamond at Klein Field | Stanford, Calif.
LIVE STATS | VIDEO
 
SAN FRANCISCO—Fresh off of taking two out of three from Saint Mary's, the Dons will take on Stanford in a mid-week matchup at Sunken Diamond on Tuesday.
 
PROBABLE MATCHUPS

Tuesday

LHP Sam Granoff (1-2, 1.75 ERA)

TBA

 
FINDING THEIR GROOVE
The Dons are won three straight series and have won 11 of their 18 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 rivals Gonzaga and Saint Mary's, and a pair against UC Riverside.
 
CECILIO NAMED WCC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Christian Cecilio has quickly turned into one of the better pitchers in the country. Over his last six starts, he has an ERA of 1.09 in 49.1 innings and struck out 43. He has been even better over his last four starts where he has thrown 34.2 innings, including two complete game shutouts, and has an ERA of 0.77. This week, he threw a complete game shutout against Saint Mary's at AT&T Park and picked up the 2-0 win. He allowed six hits and struck out seven and was named WCC Pitcher of the Week on Monday. None of these outings have been shorter than seven innings.
 
MIROGLIO ON JOHNNY BENCH WATCH LIST
Sophomore catcher Dominic Miroglio has been a difference maker on offense and defense for the Dons this season and was honored by being named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List. The Johnny Bench Award is given to the best Division I catcher in the nation. Miroglio is hitting .320 with two home runs and 17 RBI and is throwing out 43 percent of runners. He leads all WCC catchers in batting average, RBI, and caught stealing percentage.
 
INNINGS EATERS
Christian Cecilio and Anthony Shew have thrown more innings than anyone in the conference. Cecilio (54.0 IP) and Shew (51.2) are first and second respectively in innings pitched in the WCC.
 
SMILING SAM GRANOFF
Redshirt freshman Sam Granoff has been a welcomed surprise for the Dons so far this season. He has a team-best 1.75 ERA, has thrown 20.2 innings over his last three starts with a 1.74 ERA. Two of the starts have come against ranked teams (No. 8 Orgeon, No. 24 California).
 
CECILIO MOVING UP USF LISTS
Christian Cecilio has been a regular presence in the Dons' rotation since his freshman season. On Saturday, Cecilio tied Matt Lujan (2008-11) with a program-record 49 career starts and passed former top-five pick Kyle Zimmer for sixth on the career strikeout list.
 
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.
 
SHEW'S ENDURANCE
Anthony Shew has quickly established himself as one of the better and more durable pitchers in the conference and showed it again against Saint Mary's by allowing one run over eight innings for the 3-1 win. He has thrown at least eight innings in five of his seven 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.
 
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 468 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).