SAN DIEGO—San Diego used a powerful offense and solid performances on the mound to take game one of its weekend series with BYU, 15-5 on Thursday at Fowler Park.
Chris McCready got things going early, hitting a two-out grand slam in the first inning and
Paul Kunst followed with a solo home run in the second to give the Toreros (20-10, 5-5 WCC) an early 5-0 lead.
The Cougars (21-7, 7-3 WCC) would answer, putting up four runs in the fifth but the Torero bats were relentless, piling on two runs in the fifth and four runs in both the sixth and seventh innings to secure the win over the WCC's top-ranked team.
McCready finished the day 3-for-4 with two runs and seven RBIs. His first inning home run was the second grand slam for McCready in the past three games. Kunst finished a triple shy of hitting for the cycle, also going 3-for-4 with an RBI and three runs.
The Toreros collected 15 total hits in the contest including 2-RBI doubles for both
Shane McGuire and
Adam Kerner.
Chris Murphy (4-1, 2.91 ERA) got the start for USD, pitching 5.2 innings and giving up four runs (3 earned) on seven hits and five walks, with six strikeouts.
Travis Kuhn and
Grady Miller were excellent in relief of Murphy, with Kuhn collecting four strikeouts while giving up just one run on one hit and two walks.
The Toreros remain home for the second game of their series with BYU on Friday night at 6 p.m. PT.
