SAN FRANCISCO — The University of San Francisco baseball team hosts defending Mountain West Conference champion Fresno State Tuesday in a non-conference midweek matchup at Benedetti Diamond.
 
GAME #8 INFORMATION
Opponent: Fresno State (2-1)
Site: Benedetti Diamond (San Francisco)
 
March 2, 2021 – 2 p.m.
Probable Starters: RHP Trevor Meisner (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 K) vs. RHP Nik Cardinal (0-1, 40.50 ERA, 1 K)
Live Video: bit.ly/2NU8Kur
Live Stats: bit.ly/3q8YtYk
 
ABOUT THE DONS
 
The Dons (3-4) dropped three of four games against California last weekend. The Dons pitched well in the series, limiting the Bears to a .242 average and striking out 42 in 34 innings while only walking 10. The Dons put themselves in position to score runs all series but struggled to hit with runners in scoring position, going 6 for 33 (.182) in those situations, leading to defeats by one run, two runs and four runs.
 
The three-man weekend starting rotation of Landen Bourassa, Eric Reyzelman and Grant Nechak again performed well as a trio, posting a 3.00 ERA and striking out 14 against only four walks in 12 innings of work. All three worked deeper into their starts than their previous appearances on opening weekend.
 
Jack Winkler found his swing over the weekend, batting .333 and slugging .556 with a double, a home run and four RBIs in the four-game series. The 2019 All-West Coast Conference Honorable Mention honoree and 2020 Preseason All-WCC Team member went 3 for 13 (.231) in the season-opening series at UCLA.
 
ABOUT FRESNO STATE
The Bulldogs (2-1) took two of three from CSU Bakersfield last weekend at home in their first series of the year. Fresno State scored 13 and nine runs, respectively, in the first two games of the series, but lost Sunday's finale, 9-4. The Bulldogs won the 2019 Mountain West Conference title and were 9-7 last season before the year was cut short. Fresno State has won three straight against the Dons dating to 2018, and hasn't lost in San Francisco since 2008, a 7-6 USF win.
 
Josh Lauck went 5 for 9 (.556) and slugged .889 last weekend to lead the Bulldogs offensively. Five Fresno State starters hit .333 or better in the series versus CSU Bakersfield. Zach Presno hit two home of Fresno State's four home runs last weekend. Four pitchers who made appearances in the series did not allow a run. No pitcher made more than one appearance versus the Roadrunners.
 
LESS FOR FREE
After allowing an average of seven free passes (walks and hit-by-pitches) per game in their first four contests, the Dons cut that average to just three in their last three games. The Dons walked or hit 28 batters in their first four games, but cut down on the free base runners to just nine total over the last three games.
 
COMING UP
The Dons play their third Pac-12 Conference opponent in as many weekends when they begin a four-game home-and-home series versus Stanford on Thursday. Games one and two will be at Stanford on Thursday and Friday, with games three and four shifting to San Francisco and Benedetti Diamond on Saturday and Sunday. Fans can find all live coverage links on USFDons.com.