THIS WEEKEND
USF (19-19, 5-10 WCC) at Santa Clara (7-28, 3-9 WCC)
Location: Santa Clara, Calif. 
Venue: Stephen Schott Stadium
 
Game 1: Friday, Apr. 21 
First Pitch: 6 p.m.  
TV/Video: TheW.tv 
Stats: StatBroadcast
USF: RHP Grant Goodman (3-2, 4.09)
SCU: RHP Eric Lex (2-6, 4.11)
 
Game 2: Saturday, Apr. 22 
First Pitch: 6 p.m.  
TV/Video: TheW.tv / Sling TV
Stats: StatBroadcast
USF: RHP Thomas Ponticelli (1-1, 2.01)
SCU: RHP Grant Nechak (1-4, 5.09)
 
Game 3: Sunday, Apr. 23 
First Pitch: 1 p.m.  
TV/Video: TheW.tv
Stats: StatBroadcast
USF: RHP Daniel Slominski (3-4, 3.81)
SCU: RHP Jacob Steffens (2-4, 4.97)

First Pitch
USF (19-19, 5-10 WCC) comes into the series having won four of its last six and riding the momentum of the Dons' first WCC series win after taking two of three from Portland at home this past weekend. USF followed that up with a split in a home-and-home midweek matchup with Sacramento State, dropping Monday's contest 9-5 in Sacramento, before coming back to win on Tuesday, 14-6, at home. Meanwhile, Santa Clara (7-28, 3-9 WCC) is looking to rebound from a three-game sweep at the hands of Gonzaga this past weekend at home.  
 
The Dons At a Glance...                                  
THIS PAST WEEK

• Captured the series opener over Portland this past Thursday, 4-0, behind seven shutout innings by starter Grant Goodman and Dominic Miroglio's team-leading fifth home run of the season.
• Erupted offensively for a 12-2 win in game two as Miroglio went 4-for-5 and Brady Bate drove in three runs to bolster six shutout innings by Thomas Ponticelli and Joey Steele earning a three-inning save with flawless seventh, eighth and ninth innings.
• USF couldn't finish off the sweep as the Pilots took the series finale, 4-1, with a three-run third inning that proved the difference. The Dons left 13 runners on base, including the bases loaded in three separate innings.
• On Monday against Sacramento State, USF took an early lead, only to have to rally back and tie the game twice in the fourth and seventh innings, but allowed a four-run seventh inning that gave the Hornets a 9-5 victory.
• Bounced back on Tuesday behind a 4-for-5 day by Bate that included a sixth-inning grand slam and six RBI to lead the Dons to a 14-6 win.  

 
 
WHO'S HOT?
Matt Sinatro has been swinging a hot bat of late, leading the team with a .390 average over the last 10 games. Sinatro paces the team with 10 RBI and has tallied a home run and five runs scored while going 5 of 7 on stolen base attempts during that span. Meanwhile, Brady Bate is 7-for-20 with two doubles, a triple and a home run over his last 10 games while driving in nine runs. On the mound, right-hander Thomas Ponticelli hasn't allowed a run over his last four appearances, a span of 15 1/3 innings that includes two starts and two relief appearances. Ponticelli has given up just four hits while striking out 16 during that stretch.     
 
WHERE THEY STAND
The Dons and Broncos find themselves near the bottom of the WCC standings looking to make a second half push. USF comes into the weekend in seventh place at 5-10 in WCC action, while Santa Clara carries a 3-9 record that puts them in ninth. Conference leader San Diego (12-3) is trailed by BYU (9-3) and Loyola Marymount and Gonzaga, each at 11-4. The Dons have series coming up against Pepperdine (6-6) and BYU before rounding out the regular season against Pacific (2-13).    
 
SOMEBODY STOP THAT GUY
Matt Sinatro comes into the Santa Clara series in the midst of a team-long 19-game on-base streak. Sinatro is hitting .338 over that streak, collecting hits in 16 of those 19 contests while drawing 14 walks for a .452 on base percentage.   
  
SMOOT BRINGS THE BAT
Allen Smoot has been as steady an offensive presence as the Dons have had this year, ranking in the top-10 in the WCC in average (.336), on base percentage (.430), hits (47) and walks (23). Smoot has registered hits in 13 of the last 15 contests, eight of which have been multi-hit performances, highlighted by a season-best 4-for-5 day in the series finale at Gonzaga on Mar. 26. Altogether, Smoot leads the team in multi-hit performances (14) and is tied for the team lead (with Dominic Miroglio) in multi-RBI games (7).
 
OUCH!
Brady Bate comes into the weekend leading the WCC in hit by pitches, wearing 12 bean balls so far on the year. Two more would put Bate among the top-10 in USF single-season record holders in that category.

CATCH AND THROW
The Dons enter the series boasting the conference's best fielding percentage (.977), led by reigning WCC Defensive Player of the Year in shortstop Nico Giarratano, who has yet to commit an error in 166 chances.  
 
SHUT IT DOWN
Left-hander Scott Parker (23) and righty Brenden Jenkins (21) rank first and second in the conference in appearances this year. Parker has worked primarily in late-game situations out of the bullpen where he boasts a 1.90 ERA from the seventh inning on. He has struck out 13 batters in 14 1/3 innings in such situations this season. Jenkins has been a key stopper in his own right, holding a 1.69 ERA in the seventh inning or later, striking out 26 batters in 21 1/3 innings of work from the seventh inning on while picking up a pair of saves on the year.
 
SPEED KILLS
The Dons lead the conference with 57 stolen bases as a team. Individually, Matt Sinatro paces the conference with 13 thefts. He's trying to match last season's total of 26 stolen bases, which was the eighth-most for a single season in USF history. Tyler Villaroman (13), Harrison Bruce (9) and Brady Bate (7) each rank among the top-10 in the WCC this season.
 

Scouting Report
 
About Santa Clara
The Broncos come into the series in the midst of a six-game losing streak after being swept by Gonzaga this past weekend at home. Prior to that, Santa Clara has taken one of three in each of their previous WCC series against San Diego, Loyola Marymount and Portland. The Broncos claimed a 4-3 win in the opening weekend at home against Washington, a top-25 team for most of the season. As a team, the Broncos rank towards the bottom of the conference in most offensive categories, but have the third-most home runs in the WCC so far (29). Sophomore shortstop John Cresto leads the Broncos at the plate, hitting .314, and ranks in the top-10 in the conference in slugging percentage (.564) with 12 doubles and seven home runs. Cresto and freshman outfielder Andre Nnebe are tied for sixth in the WCC with 44 hits apiece. On the mound, redshirt sophomore right-hander Eric Lex has been one of the Broncos' most steady hurlers, ranking in the top-10 in strikeouts (53) and opposing average against (.243), while leading the team's starters with a 4.09 ERA over 11 appearances that includes six starts.  
 
Series Notes Against Santa Clara
USF holds a 36-30 advantage in the series under head coach Nino Giarratano (since 1999) and has won the past two series after taking two of three in Santa Clara last year and sweeping on the road in 2015. The Dons put together a 10-game winning streak over the Broncos between 2011 and 2014, the longest streak for either team during Giarratano's tenure. The last Santa Clara series win came in 2008 when the Broncos took two of three. USF has won 19 of the last 23 meetings between the two.
   
Last Time Out
The Dons found themselves trailing by five runs after five innings of play, but took advantage of nine walks and a pair of errors to rally back for a 14-6 victory over Sacramento State on Tuesday afternoon at Benedetti Diamond. A grand slam by Brady Bate highlighted a six-run sixth inning for the Dons, which was followed by five more runs in the seventh to help put the game away. Bate led the offense by going 4-for-5 with six RBI on the day, the most in a game since Zack Turner's five RBI at BYU in 2013. The grand slam was Bate's second of the year after hitting a walk-off grand slam against Loyola Marymount on Mar. 18. Harrison Bruce came off the bench to drive in two runs and Allen Smoot went 2-for-3 with an RBI double and a run scored. The offense was aided by a Sacramento State bullpen that fell into a tailspin as the game wore on. The Dons scored their six runs in the sixth inning off of just one hit after putting the first five hitters on with two hit-by-pitches, two walks and a fielder's choice that resulted in a throwing error before Bate stepped up and clobbered the first pitch of new reliever Jonny Palsha's outing.
 
On Deck
Following the weekend series with the Broncos, the Dons return home to host Cal on Tuesday, Apr. 25 at 3 p.m. USF will then jump back into WCC play when they travel to Provo, Utah for a three-game set at BYU starting on Thursday, Apr. 27.