May 7, 2004
Box Score
(San Diego, CA) - Josh Hansen hit a walk off three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to power San Diego past Gonzaga 3-0 Friday afternoon at USD's Cunningham Stadium. Kyle Collins and Nate Boman combined on a three-hit shutout for San Diego (29-20, 15-10). USD has won nine of their last ten games as 6th-year head coach Rich Hill and the Toreros close in on the program's 5th consecutive 30-win season
Gonzaga (20-24, 12-10) had received an outstanding pitching performance from 6-foot-6 junior right-hander Eric Dworkis (7-4) before Hansen won the game with an opposite field homerun off Dworkis in the bottom of the ninth. Dworkis had held the league's best offense to just three hits after eight complete innings.
Collins, the WCC's co-Pitcher of the Month (April), was equally impressive. Before Boman (2-1) came on to work a scoreless ninth, Collins had scattered three hits in eight frames, inducing 15 groundball outs.
Joey Prast singled sharply to left field leading off San Diego's half of the ninth. A sacrifice bunt from Gavin Ng moved Prast into scoring position and Gonzaga opted to intentionally walk Tom Caple. Randy Curtis followed by lining out to centerfield.
With two outs Hansen stepped in and was hit in the arm by a Dworkis curveball. Both home plate umpire Mike Gilmore and Hansen agreed that Hansen's at-bat would continue. Hansen then sent the game-winning homerun over the right field wall, beyond the reach of a chasing Jeff Culpepper.
