April 5, 2017 Box Score
SAN DIEGO, Calif. â€" The No. 19 USD Toreros (20-7) knocked off New Mexico (18-11) 7-2 Wednesday evening in a non-conference matchup between first place teams. The Lobos scored a run in the first, but the Toreros responded with two in the bottom of the first and never trailed again. Roman Garcia knocked in four RBI and the Torero bullpen pitched 7.1 scoreless innings.
The Lobos grabbed a quick lead, scoring on a Jared Mang triple down the right field line that Hunter Mercado-Hood lost in the sun.
The Toreros responded in the bottom of the first with a Roman Garcia two run home run to left, scoring Hunter Mercado-Hood, who led off the inning with a double.
USD added a run in the bottom of the second on a Paul Kunst suicide squeeze bunt. Kunst bunted sharply to first and Jack Zoellner fired home but was too late to get Kevin Collard, who was running on the pitch.
Miles Sandum struck out the first hitter in the top of the third, but then the Lobos notched three consecutive hits, including a Carl Stajduhar RBI double to the right center gap. Sandum was lifted after a walk, which loaded the bases with one out. Sean Barry came in and got out of the jam, inducing a pair of groundouts.
Barry got out of another jam in the top of the sixth. With runners on first and third and no outs, Barry struck out the next three batters.
Aidan Stinnett led off the bottom of the sixth with a solo home run to left center, putting USD up 4-2. The Toreros scored three insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth. Two came on a Roman Garcia two-run double to the gap and another came on a Colton Waltner RBI single.
In a game that featured 11 total pitchers and over 350 pitches, there were 25 combined runners on base; the Lobos had 14 and USD had 11.
The Torero bullpen combined to pitch 6.1 shutout innings. Sean Barry (4-1) earned his fourth win of the year, pitching 3.2 scoreless innings while striking out seven. Johnathan Teaney, Chris Murphy and Troy Conyers pitched the final three innings, allowing just two hits between them.
The Toreros head to Spokane, Wash. this weekend for a three game series at Gonzaga. Game one features two of the best pitchers in the WCC; USD's Nick Sprengel and the Zags' Eli Morgan.
