THIS WEEKEND
USF (24-26) vs. San Jose State (16-31-1)
 
Game 1: Friday, May 12 
Location: San Francisco (Benedetti Diamond)
First Pitch: 1 p.m.   
TV/Video: TheW.tv
Stats: StatBroadcast
USF Starter: RHP Thomas Ponticelli (3-1, 2.10) 
SJSU Starter: RHP Matt Brown (4-5, 5.88)  
 
Game 2: Saturday, May 13 
Location: San Francisco (Benedetti Diamond)
First Pitch: 1 p.m.   
TV/Video: TheW.tv
Stats: StatBroadcast
USF Starter: RHP Grant Goodman (3-4, 5.06) 
SJSU Starter: RHP Jake Swiech (1-4, 5.73)   
 
Game 3: Sunday, May 14
Location: San Jose (Municipal Stadium)
First Pitch: 7 p.m.   
TV/Video: Mountain West Network
Stats: Gametracker
USF Starter: LHP Scott Parker (5-1, 2.32)
SJSU Starter: RHP Joseph Balfour (0-3, 6.75)  
 
Game 4: Monday, May 15
Location: San Jose (Municipal Stadium)
First Pitch: 7 p.m.   
TV/Video: Mountain West Network
Stats: Gametracker
USF Starter: LHP Sam Granoff (2-4, 4.14)
SJSU Starter: TBD
 
Complete Game Notes [PDF]

First Pitch
USF (24-26) is set to host San Jose State (16-31-1) at Benedetti Diamond for the first two of a four-game series. Games one and two will be at 1 p.m. on Friday and Saturday at Benedetti Diamond, while games three and four will both feature a 7 p.m. first pitch at San Jose Municipal Stadium. The Dons are coming off a series win over Pepperdine this past week, but fell on the road at No. 10 Stanford, 4-0, on Tuesday. The Spartans were swept by San Diego State this past weekend before splitting two games at Grand Canyon in midweek action.   
 
The Dons at a Glance...                                  
THIS PAST WEEK

• Captured the series opener over Pepperdine this past Friday with a 3-0 win behind Thomas Ponticelli's eight-plus shutout innings and a 2-for-3, two-RBI day by Allen Smoot.  
• Game two went in favor of the Waves, 6-5, as Pepperdine's Ben Rodriguez hit a two-out pinch-hit home run in the top of the ninth to force extra innings and Matt Crowder doubled home the game-winner in the top of the 12^th.
• USF took the rubber match in spectacular fashion with a final tally of 18-4. USF scored the most runs since 2011 and racked up the most hits in the WCC this season (25). Smoot capped an outstanding weekend by going 4-for-4 with three runs scored and Dominic Miroglio hit his team-leading sixth home run.
• Shutout, 4-0, at No. 10 Stanford on Tuesday despite 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball by lefty Sam Granoff. The Cardinal used a two-out RBI single and a three-run home run to do their damage.     
   

WHO'S HOT?
Allen Smoot continues to swing a hot bat, hitting a team-best .538 (21-39) over the last 10 games entering the series. He has contributed three doubles, a home run and a team-best 11 RBIs over that span. Dan James has also been hot in limited action, mostly off the bench, hitting at a .563 (9-16) clip with two doubles an RBI and three runs scored over the last 10 contests. On the mound, left-hander Sam Granoff has allowed just two earned runs over his last 17 innings of work, which includes three starts. Righty Thomas Ponticelli has also been a prime performer of late, boasting a 1.70 ERA over his last five appearances, four of which have been starts. Ponticelli has allowed a total of six runs over his last 31 1/3 innings, striking out 29 while walking just three, and going a perfect 3-0 during that stretch.  
 
SMOOT, PONTICELLI SWEEP WEEKLY HONORS
Allen Smoot and Thomas Ponticelli swept the West Coast Conference weekly honors in being named player and pitcher of the week, respectively, this past week. Smoot hit a blistering .714 over four games, raising his average by 23 points over the weekend. He highlighted his week by going 4-for-4 in the 18-4 series finale win on Sunday in which he tallied two RBIs and scored three runs. He registered two hits in each game prior to that, including Saturday's 12-inning loss to the Waves where Smoot reached base safely in six of his seven plate appearances, going 2-for-3 while drawing four walks and scoring a pair of runs. Meanwhile, Ponticelli took care of business on the mound, registering his fourth quality start in his last five outings in helping lead the Dons to a 3-0 shutout over Pepperdine in Friday's series opener. Ponticelli scattered six hits over eight-plus scoreless innings while striking out six and walking one to improve to 3-1 on the year and lower his ERA to 2.10, the best among USF's starters.  
 
RACK EM' UP
USF's 18 runs scored in their 18-4 win over Pepperdine this past Sunday were the most in a game since the Dons defeated Portland 19-2 on Apr. 16, 2011. The 25 hits the Dons racked up in the game were the most by a WCC team this season, surpassing the 23 hits BYU tallied against Utah Valley on May 2. USF's previous season high was 14 runs in a win over Sacramento State on Apr. 18 and 17 hits in a 12-2 win over Portland on Apr. 14.
 
RECORDS WERE MADE TO BE BROKEN
Senior Nico Giarratano will wrap up his USF career over the next few weeks among the all-time leaders in a number of career categories. With 858 career at-bats coming into the San Jose State series, Giarratano has surpassed Tony Hurtado (822) for the most at bats in program history. Giarratano is tied for 10th in career doubles (42) and has 207 career hits, needing four more to break into the top-10 all-time. In the field, Giarratano's 576 defensive assists are already a program record.
 
LEGENDARY LEGS
Senior Matt Sinatro has made a career out of getting on base and using his speed to be a difference maker in the Dons' lineup. He sits tied for sixth place in program history with 99 career walks entering the weekend and his 54 career stolen bases are tied for the seventh-most.  
  
KEEP IT COMING
Allen Smoot has been as steady an offensive presence as the Dons have had this year, leading the WCC in on base percentage (.464) and hits (68) coming into the weekend, while ranking in the top-5 in batting average (.366) and among the top-10 in RBIs (36), doubles (13) and walks (34). Smoot has registered multiple hits in nine of the last 11 games, collecting four hits on three occasions this season. Altogether, Smoot leads the team in multi-hit games (22) and
multi-RBI games (10).
 
OUCH! 
Brady Bate comes into the weekend tied for the WCC lead in hit by pitches, wearing 14 bean balls so far on the year, which ties for the eighth-most in a single season in USF history.

BETTER STAY PUT
Catcher Dominic Miroglio has been the most difficult catcher in the West Coast Conference to run on this year, leading the WCC with 21 runners caught stealing. He has thrown out 57 percent of would-be base stealers on the year. The redshirt junior was named to the Johnny Bench Award watch list earlier this year, which is given annually to the top Division I catcher in the country.  
 
HOME AND AWAY
The Dons have made the most of home field advantage this season, hitting .295 as a team with a 2.77 ERA at Benedetti Diamond, where they are 13-8 on the year. On the contrary, USF has gone just 9-18 on the road where they are hitting .249 with a 5.10 ERA.
 
CATCH AND THROW
The Dons have enjoyed steady defense all year long as they enter the week boasting the conference's best fielding percentage (.978), led by reigning WCC Defensive Player of the Year in shortstop Nico Giarratano, who has committed just one error in 225 chances coming into the series. Giarratano's 143 defensive assists pace the WCC.   
 
SHUT IT DOWN
Right-hander Thomas Ponticelli comes into the San Jose State series tied for second in the WCC with a 2.10 ERA in 11 appearances, including seven starts. Ponticelli's .223 batting average against ranks as the third-lowest in the WCC this year.
 
THESE GUYS LOOK FAMILIAR
Left-hander Scott Parker leads the WCC with 30 appearances on the year coming into the weekend, while righty Brenden Jenkins ranks second with 27 appearances. Parker has worked primarily in late-game situations out of the bullpen where he boasts a 1.73 ERA over 15 2/3 innings from the seventh inning on. A testament to his versatility, Parker made his first start of the year this past Sunday, picking up the win in USF's 18-4 victory over Pepperdine. Jenkins has been a key late-game stopper in his own right, holding a 1.59 ERA in 34 innings from the seventh inning on.
 
SPEED KILLS
The Dons lead the conference with 67 stolen bases as a team coming into the weekend. Individually, Matt Sinatro paces the conference with 19 thefts, while Tyler Villaroman (15) and Harrison Bruce (10) rank among the top-10. Sinatro is trying to match last season's total of 26 stolen bases, which was the eighth-most for a single season in USF history. 
 

Scouting Report
 
About San Jose State
The Spartans come into the series having lost seven of the last eight contests after splitting a pair of midweek road games at Grand Canyon. San Jose State was swept by San Diego State at home this past weekend in Mountain West action, where they are 8-17-1 on the year. As a team, the Spartans lead the Mountain West in stolen bases (54) with freshman outfielder Kellen Strahm leading the way with 16 stolen bags. Junior first baseman Shane Timmons paces the Spartans at the plate with a .301 batting average, nine home runs and 37 RBIs. On the mound, redshirt junior right-hander Jake Swiech has the best ERA of San Jose State's starters at 5.73 over 15 appearances, which includes nine starts, while fellow junior righty Matt Brown leads the team in wins with four, having started all 13 of the games he's pitched.        
 
Series Notes Against San Jose State
The Dons are 19-16-1 against the Spartans under head coach Nino Giarratano (since 1999) and have won seven of the last nine meetings entering the series. Last year, USF won both matchups, earning a 6-3 win in San Jose on Mar. 15 before edging the Spartans, 4-3, at home on Apr. 19. USF also won the last weekend series between the two squads back in 2014 by taking two of three contests.  
   
Last Time Out
Sam Granoff allowed just one run over 5 2/3 innings but he wound up with the tough luck loss on Tuesday night as the Dons were unable to plate a run in a 4-0 defeat at No. 10 Stanford. Granoff (2-4) only allowed two Stanford hits over the first five innings before the Cardinal (31-13) finally struck in the bottom of the sixth when Dan Bakst doubled and was driven in two batters later by Jack Klein's single through the right side. Granoff scattered four hits overall on the night, striking out three and walking three. A three-run home run by Duke Kinamon in the bottom of the seventh accounted for the other Stanford runs. The three-run shot was setup by a pair of walks issued by USF reliever Joey Steele and a single off the bat of Nico Hoerner. Matt Sinatro went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles to lead the Dons (24-26) at the plate.

On Deck
Following this weekend's series, USF will wrap up the regular season with a three-game WCC series against Pacific. The first game of that series is slated for a 6 p.m. first pitch on Friday in Stockton, while the two final games will be played at Benedetti Diamond at 3 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday, which will serve as Senior Day, recognizing USF's 12 graduating seniors.
 
Fan Guide
                                                          
Ticket Information
Individual game tickets for all USF home games at Benedetti Diamond are available online at USFDons.com or by calling (415) 422-2USF. General admission tickets are available for as low as $10, while reserved seats can be purchased for $15. All USFCA faculty, staff and students with a valid ID, and youth 12 and under enter free.
 
Parking Information
Parking on campus for baseball games requires a day-use permit that can be purchased at the parking kiosk in the Hayes-Healy parking lot (located along Golden Gate Ave. in between War Memorial at the Sobrato Center and the Hayes Healy dorms). This permit is also good at the Koret Health and Recreation Center lot (at the corner of Parker Ave. and Turk St.). Street parking is also available around campus, but visitors are reminded to take notice of signs displaying city parking restrictions for each street. Refer to the USF Department of Public Safety parking webpage for a map of parking on campus.