May 2, 2009
Box Score
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The University of San Diego baseball team dropped a 7-3 West Coast Conference game to Loyola Marymount University Saturday afternoon at Paige Stadium.
With the loss, the Toreros fall to 27-20, 10-7 in the WCC and move into second place in the WCC, one game back of both LMU and Gonzaga. With the win, the Lions move into a tie for first place with Gonzaga in the WCC at 28-21 overall and 11-6 in the WCC.
For the second consecutive game, the Lions jumped out to an early lead as they scored two runs on two hits. The LMU runs came on a two-run homer by Ryan Wheeler to give the Lions a 2-0 lead.
The Toreros cut the lead in half in the top of the third inning. Chris Engell got things started with a double down the right field line and moved to third on a Sean Nicol ground out. James Meador then singled up the middle to drive in Engell and move the score to 2-1.
The Lions then scored one run in the fourth inning on a Shon Roe RBI single and two runs in the fifth inning on RBI singles by Wheeler and Angelo Songco to give the Lions a 5-1 lead.
San Diego took back a run in the top of the eighth inning on two hits. Jon Hotta got things started with a walk and moved to second on a balk. Engell then drove in Hotta with an infield single to cut the lead to three at 5-2.
LMU then tacked on a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to cap their scoring for the day and out the game out of reach at 7-2.
The Toreros attempted to put on a late rally, as they loaded the bases with a Bryan Haar double, and back-to-back walks by Michael Lugo and Austin Green, but USD was only able to push across one of those runs to put the game at its final of 7-3.
Offensively, Meador led the way as he went 3-for-4 with one RBI. Engell was the only other Torero to record multiple hits, as he went 2-for-5 with one double and one RBI.
AJ Griffin (7-3) was saddled with the loss for the Toreros as he allowed seven runs on 13 hits in 8.0 innings of work. Alex Gillingham (4-2) was credited with the win for the lions as he allowed two runs on six hits in 8.0 innings of work.
The Toreros will return to action on Sunday as they conclude the three-game series with the Lions at 1 p.m. inside of Paige Stadium.
