THIS WEEKEND
USF (16-26, 10-8 WCC) at Saint Mary's (22-16, 10-5 WCC)  
Friday, Apr. 29 - Sunday, May 1
Louis Guisto Field | Moraga, Calif.
Live stats: usfdons.com | Audio/Video: TheW.tv

PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday, April 29 | 3 p.m.
USF: RHP Anthony Shew (3-5, 4.50)     SMC: RHP Corbin Burnes (6-1, 1.61)
Saturday, April 30 | 2 p.m.
USF: RHP Thomas Ponticelli (2-4, 5.57)     SMC: LHP Johnny York (4-4, 3.16)
Sunday, May 1 | 1 p.m.
USF: RHP James Kannenberg (5-3, 3.63)     SMC: RHP Cameron Neff (2-2, 4.20)
 

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SAN FRANCISCO – The Dons (16-26, 10-8 WCC) come into a pivotal weekend series with Saint Mary's (22-16, 10-5 WCC) fresh off a three-game sweep of San Diego at home and a series win over Gonzaga the weekend prior. USF is riding a season-long five game winning streak and has won six of its last seven to keep themselves in the hunt for a West Coast Conference Championship bid. 
 
The timing of USF's hot streak could not be better as the Dons find themselves right in the mix for one of the top four spots that will earn a berth to the WCC Championships at Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton. USF enters the weekend in a three-way tie with Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine for fourth place, each with identical 10-8 records in conference play. Meanwhile, the Gaels come into the series tied with BYU for second place, each with 10-5 marks in WCC action. Gonzaga and BYU square off for a major series this weekend that will start to help clear things up in the conference standings, but two weeks of conference play still remain after this weekend. 
 
Senior right-hander Anthony Shew (3-5, 4.50) will be looking for his third consecutive victory when he toes the rubber at Louis Guisto Field for the series opener on Friday at 3 p.m. He'll have his work cut out for him as he matches up with Gaels' righty Corbin Burnes (6-1, 1.61), who has put together one of the best seasons in the conference thus far.  
 
Shew went eight innings, allowing just one run while striking out six in a victory over Saint Mary's last season at Benedetti Diamond.
 
This weekend's action can be followed via live stats on USFDons.com and a live video stream on TheW.tv.
 
NOTABLES
Junior SS Nico Giarratano comes into the weekend riding a 16-game on-base streak, the longest such streak on the team this year... during that streak, Giarratano has tallied hits in 12 of the 16 games and is hitting .259 with a .368 on base pct... redshirt junior IF Allen Smoot has been on a tear of late, hitting .471 (16 for 34) over his last 10 games, tallying five doubles, 10 RBI and 11 walks... his on base percentage over that span sits at .587... Smoot has hit safely in 19 of his last 23 games... not to be outdone is junior OF/IF Matt Sinatro, who is hitting at a .444 clip over his last 10 games... Sinatro has scored a team-best 11 runs, walked 11 times and stolen seven bases over that stretch.
 
USF has mostly been able to count on solid defense throughout the year... the Dons rank third overall in the conference with a .974 fielding pct.... they lead the pack in WCC games alone, sporting a .984 fielding pct.... senior catcher Ryan Matranga has done his part behind the plate in helping the Dons boast one of the conference's best defenses by throwing out 53% (16 of 30) of the baserunners attempting to steal off him this year... his 16 runners caught stealing are tied for 3rd-most in the WCC... Giarratano has played a stellar shortstop all season long, coming up with clutch defensive plays on a weekly basis... he has committed just two errors in 203 chances this season for a sterling .990 fielding pct... he leads the WCC in defensive assists (140) coming into the week. 
 
ABOUT SAINT MARY'S  
The Gaels come into the weekend tied with Gonzaga in second place after losing three of four at Washington this past weekend and dropping a mid-week matchup to UC Santa Barbara 4-3 at home. In the Gaels' last conference action, they took two of three from BYU at home.
 
As a team, the Gaels rank in the middle of the conference with a .274 batting average, but rank second in team ERA (3.73). Opposing batters are hitting .271 against the Saint Mary's staff.
 
Second baseman Zach Kirtley leads SMC with a .355 average, five home runs and 27 RBI. Anthony Villa and Nate Nolan each have five home runs apiece.   
  
THE SERIES
The Dons are 72-94 against Saint Mary's since 1976 (the last year records are available), including a 32-47 record on the road against the Gaels. The Dons have won four of the last six meetings between the two teams after taking two of three in each of the past two series with SMC.