May 19, 2016 Box Score
SAN DIEGO, Calif. â€" The University of San Diego baseball team dropped a heartbreaking 7-6 West Coast Conference game to league-leading Gonzaga University Thursday evening at Fowler Park.
With the loss, the Toreros fall to 26-28 overall, move to 12-13 in the WCC, and have now been eliminated from contention for the WCC Tournament. With the win, the Zags improve to 32-17 overall and 17-8 in the WCC.
The Zags got on the scoreboard first, as a Nick Brooks solo home run to right field gave the visitors a 1-0 lead.
After the Zags doubled their lead in the top of the third inning, USD would answer in the bottom of the fourth inning. Hunter Mercado-Hood led off the frame with a stand-up double. Troy Conyers then drove in Mercado-Hood with an RBI single off the right field fence, to move the score to 2-1.
San Diego then kept the momentum going in the bottom of the fifth inning, as they scored three runs on two hits. Ryan Kirby led off with a walk, and Riley Adams was then hit by a pitch to move Kirby to second. Brhet Bewley then hit a ground rule double to score Kirby, and move Adams to third. Two batters later, Conyers hit a sacrifice fly to left field, which scored Adams, and Bewley moved to third on the throw. Kevin Collard then capped the scoring for the inning with a RBI single down the right field line to give USD a 4-2 lead.
The Bulldogs then took back a run in the top of the seventh on a Taylor Jones solo home run, moving the score to 4-3.
The Toreros then answered right back in the bottom of the sixth, scoring two runs on no hits. The Torero runs came on back-to-back RBI sacrifice flies by Adams and Mercado-Hood, to give USD a 6-3 edge.
Gonzaga then came back and scored four unanswered runs in the top of the eighth inning to claim a 7-6 come-from-behind win.
Offensively for the Toreros, Conyers led the way, as he went 2-for-2 with a double and two RBI.
Nick Sprengel (5-7) was saddled with the loss on the mound for the Toreros, as he allowed four runs on four hits in 2.0 innings of work. Gonzaga's Sam Hellinger (3-1) picked up the win for the Bulldogs, as he allowed one unearned run on two hits in 2.0 innings of work. Wyatt Mills picked up his seventh save of the season, as he allowed no runs on no hits in 2.0 innings of work.
San Diego will return to action on Friday, as they resume this West Coast Conference series against Gonzaga University. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
