March 6, 2005
Box Score
(San Diego, CA) - USD cruised to its sixth win in seven games, claiming a 6-2 victory over visiting St. Mary's Sunday afternoon at Cunningham Stadium. San Diego (14-8-1; 2-0 WCC) will try for a series sweep over St. Mary's (2-10; 0-2 WCC) when the three-game set concludes Monday at 12pm.
Senior third baseman Jamie Hesselgesser (pictured) went 2-for-3 and sophomore starter Nate Boman pitched eight strong innings for the Toreros. Boman held St. Mary's scoreless through seven innings. The Gaels have lost five straight.
Boman ups his season record to 5-1, limiting the Gaels to six hits and a pair of runs through eight complete innings. Boman registered six strikeouts, bringing his season total to 47- best among all WCC pitchers.
The Torero offense provided Boman with four runs in the bottom of the second inning. Consecutive singles off SMC starter Joel Fountain (1-2) to lead off the inning by Jordan Abruzzo and Shane Buschini set the table for freshman catcher Logan Gelbrich, who followed with a bases-clearing two-RBI double. Gelbrich would be driven home moments later on a two-out double off the bat of Hesselgesser.
The Gaels were unable to register an extra-base hit off Boman, but pushed in a pair of runs on RBI-groundouts in the eighth. The Gaels had loaded up the bases on a walk and two singles to begin the inning, but Boman worked out the jam by inducing a pair of groundballs and striking out Preston Young to end the inning.
Boman gave-way to closer Matt Falk, who pitched a flawless ninth to end any hopes of a Gael comeback.