SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- As we reach the middle part of February and the last reminders of winter start to fade from sight, the USF Dons baseball team is ready to get to work as they begin their 2022 season this Friday afternoon as they welcome the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos for a three game weekend series at Benedetti Diamond.

Led by a strong young core of talent and a great mixture of graduate transfer additions, the Dons will look to build on their 25-28 record a year ago and a fantastic 16-11 conference record that was good for third in the West Coast Conference.

"We finished strongly in third place and I think we would have made a nice run at the NCAA tournament," USF head baseball coach Nino Giarratano explained. "All in all it was a tough to finish third in the conference and not have the conference tournament, tough to look back at the start of the season and not to have accomplish everything we wanted to."

Despite not ending 2021 where they wanted to be, the Dons are even more prepared to make a run at the postseason in 2022.

"I really like the team and I'm excited about the guys who are back," Giarratano said. "I see this as a group that could do very well. There's a lot of great leadership and the schedule is going to be tough this season the only difference will be that we're going to play at home in the beginning so hopefully we can get off to a good start that gives us some confidence."

The Dons didn't shy away from scheduling quality programs from across the country including the season opening series with UC Santa Barbara as well as matchups with Pac-12 opponents Arizona State, California, Oregon and Stanford.

A key reason for the Dons' optimism heading into 2022 is the program's reconstructed pitching staff, it's a group that includes a strong diversity of arms and unique repertoires to keep opposing lineups off-balance. 

"I think it's a going to be a wonderful team as far as being able to pitch and pitch late in games," Giarratano explained. "I like having Riley Ornido back healthy, Josh Mollerus had a wonderful summer and he's going to be able to step into that closer's role. Owen Stevenson last year as a freshman kind of earned his stripes and now he'll step into the Friday night starter role."

Not to be forgotten is the potent Dons' offense led by sophomore infielder Luke Keaschall who caught the eyes of many scouts in the spring with the Dons and playing summer ball in the Cape Cod League. 

"We have some wonderful position players back," Giarratano said. "Keaschall is a freshman All-American who's going to step in and play shortstop, Mario DeMera a sophomore who's going to step in there and play second base. Darius Foster who led the conference in stolen bases last year with Jack Winkler he's going to be a really good addition for us, Harris Williams III has continued to improve and we're excited to have Nick Yovetich back in center field and Christian Stapleton at first."

Along with the group of incumbents, the Dons have numerous freshmen waiting in the wings trying to push for playing time as the season goes along. For Giarratano and his staff the importance of catching the ball to be successful could even outweigh offensive production.

"I'm excited at what we can do but we will have to play well defensively if we want to win in this conference," Giarratano said. "We've got a lot of pieces to the puzzle, but we just need to put it all together to play well."

Beyond the goal to win each and every time they take the field, Giarratano wants his players to enjoy the process of becoming good and enjoying the camaraderie and team building required to make a run at a postseason spot.

"Our expectations for our kids is to enjoy it and be in the moment to have the opportunity to compete," Giarratano said. "Winning is a byproduct of how hard we work, how well we overcome injuries and aversity as well as how well protect our home surface. We hope everyone stays healthy and enjoys the experience." 

For updates and more information on the USF baseball program, be sure to follow @SFDonsBaseball on Twitter, @USFDonsBaseball on Instagram and @University.of.San.Francisco.Baseball on Facebook.