April 27, 2014
Box Score
STOCKTON, Calif. - The University of San Diego baseball team held on to claim a 6-4 win over the University of the Pacific Sunday afternoon in a West Coast Conference game at Klein Family Field.
With the win, the Toreros improve to 28-16 overall , move to 12-9 in the WCC and are now tied with Pacific for third, just one game back of both Loyola Marymount and Gonzaga for second place. With the loss, the Tigers fall to 23-21 overall and 12-9 in the WCC.
San Diego wasted no time in scoring, as they pushed across two runs on three hits in the top of the first inning. Connor Joe got things started with a double to left field. He then moved to third on a balk, and came home on an Austin Bailey groundout to the second baseman. Back-to-back 2-out singles by Jesse Jenner and Louie Lechich kept things going, and Josh Goossen-Brown drew a walk to load the bases. Ben Wylly as hit by a pitch to bring in Jenner, giving USD a 2-0 lead.
In the second inning, USD doubled its lead, as they scored two more runs. With one out, Connor Joe hit his seventh home run of the season, a solo blast over the left field fence. Two batters later, Bailey doubled down the right field line, and he as brought home on a Jenner RBI single up the middle to give the Toreros a 4-0 lead.
USD then tacked on one more run in the top of the fourth inning on a Lechich sacrifice fly to left field, which plated Joe, who was hit by a pitch, to give USD a commanding 5-0 lead.
The Tigers finally found a way to get to USD starter PJ Conlon, as they pushed across three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Pacific runs came on an Erik Lockwood bases-loaded walk, a passed ball and a wild pitch to move the score to 5-3.
The Tigers then made things really interesting in the bottom of the eighth inning, as they scored one more run to cut the deficit to one at 5-4. However, the Toreros added an insurance run in the top of the ninth on a Goossen-Brown RBI triple to left center, scoring Lechich, who had doubled, to put the game at its final of 6-4.
Offensively for the Toreros, Joe led the way, as he went a perfect 3-for-3 with a home run and one RBI.
Conlon (7-2) was credited with the win on the mound for the Toreros, as he allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits in 5.1 innings of work. Goossen-Brown picked up his fourth save of the season, as he allowed one unearned run, on two hits in 2.0 innings f work. Pacific's Will Lydon (2-4) was saddled with the loss on the mound for the Tigers, as he allowed four runs on six hits in 2.0 innings of work.
The Toreros will return to action on Tuesday, as they head up to Orange County and take on Cal state Fullerton in a 6 p.m. game at Goodwin Field.
