SAN DIEGO - It was a close one on Friday, as the Toreros (13-12) fell 5-4 against Mount St. Mary's before rallying in game two to beat Villanova 4-3 in day two of the USD Tournament.
 
Freshman Courtney Rose (2-1) took the loss in the circle against the Mount, and senior Delaney Heller (7-9) got the win out of the pullpen for San Diego in game two.
 
GAME ONE - MOUNT ST. MARY'S
San Diego came up short in the loss to the Mount and were unable to push the tying run across.
 
Senior Madison Casiano led the way offensively for the Toreros, going 2-for-3 in the ballgame with a triple and an RBI. Sophomore Sophia Bjerk put together a noteworthy performance at the dish as well, going 1-for-2 with two RBIs. Kelli Kufta also contributed, going 2-for-3 for San Diego with a double.
 
Trailing 2-0, the Toreros answered back immediately in the bottom of the first.  San Diego scored twice, with one run coming across on sophomore Rion Simms' single.
 
The Mountaineers broke the tie and re-took the lead heading into the third inning, before the Toreros got back on the scoreboard. San Diego put up two runs in the frame, punctuated with an RBI triple off the bat of Casiano, which brought the Toreros lead to 4-3.
 
The Toreros were unable to hold the lead, as Mount St. Mary's scored two times over the remaining four innings to grab the 5-4 win.
 
GAME TWO - VILLANOVA
The Toreros rallied after the one-run loss to grab the victory against Villanova.
 
Heller went four innings, giving up one run on five hits, allowing one walk and striking out three.
 
Bjerk's two extra base hits were the highlight of a 2-for-3 game, and included a triple, a home run and two RBIs. Freshman Elisa Princic put together a standout performance at the dish as well, going 1-for-2 with a double and an RBI. Kufta continued to chip in, putting together a double and a walk in her appearances.
 
The Toreros got on the scoreboard first, starting in the second inning.  Bjerk blasted a leadoff home run over the left field fence off senior pitcher Gabby Wenn to get the Toreros on the board.
 
Villanova rallied in the top of the fourth to take a 2-1 lead, before Bjerk answered again with an RBI triple to score Casiano to even it at two apiece.
 
That 2-2 tie turned into a 4-2 San Diego lead in the fifth as the Toreros recorded two runs off of Villanova pitching, punctuated by a run-scoring double from Princic.
 
Villanova put one run on the scoreboard before the game was over, but San Diego held on for the 4-3 win as Heller forced two fly outs to end the scoring threat.
 
Next up for San Diego is a matchup on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. (PT) against CSUN for the final day of the USD Tournament. The Toreros and the Matadors will play a double header with the second game starting at 1 p.m.
 
This story created with the help of content automation technology from Data Skrive.