SAN DIEGO—Jeff Houghtby drove in all four of San Diego's runs in a 4-1 victory over UC Irvine on Tuesday night at Fowler Park.
The Toreros (29-20) got things going early after
Ripken Reyes and
Shane McGuire hit back-to-back singles to lead off the bottom of the first. Houghtby sent a ground ball up the first base line to score Reyes easily from third on the fielder's choice.
The top of the lineup did all the damage USD in the contest. Two innings later, Reyes and McGuire reached again after a hit by pitch and a walk. Houghtby then jumped on the first pitch, crushing a ball over the right field wall to give USD a 4-0 lead. It was the senior's fourth home run of the season.
McGuire finished 2-for-3 with a run, while Houghtby went 1-for-3 with a run and four RBIs. The Toreros were held to five hits in the contest but capitalized on the opportunities, leaving only three runners on base.
Conversely, the Anteaters (29-14) collected nine hits and also left nine runners stranded on base. UCI's only run came on an RBI single with runners on the corners in the fourth inning.
Louie Crow got the start for USD, pitching three shutout innings and allowing five hits with no walks and three strikeouts.
Nicola Mislinski (1-0) was credited with his first win of the season after coming on in the fourth and allowing two hits with one walk and four strikeout in 2.1 innings of work.
Travis Kuhn earned his fourth save of the season after striking out two of four batters faced in the ninth inning to seal the victory and split the series with the Anteaters this season.
The Toreros remain home for their final conference series of the season, taking on Pacific beginning Friday at 6 p.m. PT.
