SAN DIEGO — Behind strong pitching performances from
Jake Miller and
Conner Thurman as well as timely late-game hitting as a team, San Diego baseball earned a 6-1 win over Cal State Fullerton on Friday evening as part of the Tony Gwynn Legacy tournament.
Miller started the game on the mound for the Toreros, allowing only one earned run while scattering five hits across five innings of work. The sophomore right-hander recorded nine strikeouts, which tied a career high, and received the win for Friday's game, evening his record at 1-1.
Conner Thurman relieved Miller in the top of the sixth inning, and promptly began a standout performance of his own. The redshirt freshman fanned the first six batters he faced, striking out the side in back-to-back innings (the top of the sixth and the top of the seventh). His final line: 3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 7K.
Neither Miller nor Thurman issued a walk in their combined eight innings on the hill.
Thomas Luevano got the scoring started for San Diego in the bottom of the first inning with a sacrifice fly to center field, continuing his productive ways at the plate. He'd be responsible for USD's second run of the day as well, plating
Shane McGuire when he reached on a fielder's choice in the bottom of the third. The graduate student finished the evening 1-3 with a team-high two RBIs and a run scored.
The Toreros wouldn't score again until the bottom of the eighth, but when they broke through they did so in emphatic fashion. Singles from Luevano,
Angelo Peraza,
Tora Otsuka, and
Shane McGuire, plus doubles from
Cody Jefferis and
Max Jung-Goldberg stretched the San Diego lead to five runs after an extended two-out rally. Jefferis notched a team-high three hits in the game, going 3-4 with an RBI and a run scored while four more USD players —
Caleb Ricketts,
RJ Teijeiro, Otsuka, and McGuire — recorded multiple hits in the contest.
Graduate transfer
Kieran Shaw closed out the game for San Diego, taking over for Thurman after he allowed two hits to begin the top of the ninth. He was able to quell the Titans' late-game rally and preserve the five-run USD lead, and the Toreros prevailed by a 6-1 margin.
San Diego returns to action tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. when it continues play in the Tony Gwynn Legacy tournament versus Cal State Fullerton.