San Diego (7-3, 0-0 WCC)  •  UC Riverside (2-1, 0-0 Big West)
Fowler Park (1,700) •  San Diego, CA
Live Stream  •  WCC Network |  Live Statistics  • USDToreros.com
Social  •  Twitter.com/USDBaseball  •  Instagram.com/USDBaseball

SAN DIEGO — San Diego baseball (7-3, 0-0 WCC), finishes a six-game homestand this weekend at Fowler Park with a four-game set against UC Riverside (2-1, 0-0 Big West) that includes a doubleheader.

The series kicks off on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m., followed by two days of baseball beginning at 1p.m. — a Saturday doubleheader and Sunday's series finale.

All four games will be streamed on the WCC Network, with longtime Torero broadcaster Jack Murray on the call.

Due to current state and county guidelines, fans will not be permitted inside Fowler Park for this weekend's games. Fans can watch USD take on the Highlanders by tuning into the WCC Network, by following along with live statistics coverage on USDToreros.com, or by following USD Baseball on social media.

ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS UC RIVERSIDE
•San Diego is 59-57-2 against the Highlanders all-time, with the two programs' most recent meeting coming on April 2, 2019 at Fowler Park, a 7-6 USD win.

• The Toreros also carry a two-game win streak dating back to March 5, 2019 into the series, a victory that saw USD score 31 runs at the Riverside Sports Complex.

• San Diego has prevailed in seven of their last ten matchups with the Highlanders, which includes an even five home games each in San Diego and Riverside.

• Since Fowler Park opened in 2013, USD is 5-2 at home against UC Riverside.

FOR STARTERS
•Jake Miller will take the mound for the Toreros on Friday, the fourth week in a row the sophomore righty has been tabbed to start the first game of a series this season. Miller, a sophomore right-hander, is 2-1 with a 4.85 ERA through 13 innings pitched so far in 2021

• Freshman left-hander Brycen Mautz will start the second game of Saturday's doubleheader for USD. Mautz (Westview High School) has an 1-0 record with a 12.46 ERA through three appearances and 4.1 total innings so far this season. 

• San Diego's starting pitchers for game one of Saturday's doubleheader and Sunday's contest are TBA.

LAST TIME OUT
• The Toreros executed a dominant four-game sweep over UC San Diego last weekend, outscoring the Tritons by a 45-18 margin between two contests at Triton Ballpark and two at Fowler Park. San Diego beat UCSD 12-4 last Thursday, 15-10 on Friday, 10-2 on Saturday, and 8-2 on Sunday.

RBI MACHINE
• Adam Lopez enjoyed a monster series against UC San Diego, putting up a team-high nine RBIs in the four-game set.

• The third baseman drove in three go-ahead runs in three separate games (3/5, 3/6, 3/7), going 6-12 with three doubles, four runs scored, and nine RBIs in total across the home-and-home split series with UCSD.

• Lopez delivered one of the most memorable moments of the Toreros' matchups with their intra-city foes last week by sending a booming, bases-loaded, three-RBI double to the left-center field wall at Fowler Park on Saturday that gave his team at 10-2 lead and pushed the game out of reach for UCSD.

• A senior from San Diego, California, Lopez is now batting .435 (10-23) with three doubles, a home run, six runs scored, 15 RBIs, and 16 total bases so far in 2021. Both his batting average and total RBIs are second-best on the USD roster.

KUNST DOES IT ALL
• Graduate student Paul Kunst entered Friday's game as a defensive substitution and never looked back, going 6-11 with five RBIs and a run scored in the last three games versus the Tritons.

• Kunst, a walk-on who is now in his fourth official year with the USD program, added to his productive weekend at the plate with two spectacular diving catches in center field on Sunday, the second of which came in the top of the ninth inning to help finalize the Toreros' 8-2 win.

LUEVANO LIFTOFF
• Thomas Luevano launched his third home run of the 2021 season on Sunday afternoon, a towering blast that landed among the pine trees beyond the left field fence at Fowler Park.

• The three-run effort provided crucial insurance runs for the Toreros late in the series finale and marked Luevano's team-leading 14th, 15th, and 16th RBIs of the season so far.

MCGUIRE MASHING
• Shane McGuire crushed a pair of two-run homers in USD's two games at Triton Ballpark on Thursday and Friday, adding to his team-leading four total longballs in 2021.

• His first round-tripper of the weekend sailed well over Triton Ballpark's right field scoreboard, while the second was a no-doubter that was yanked down the right field line.

• McGuire's 27 total bases leads all USD players.

JEFFERIS STAYS HOT
• Cody Jefferis continued his dynamic start to 2021 at the plate, recording hits in all four games against the Tritons and multiple hits in three of them.

• The shortstop was 8-18 (.444) in the series, scoring six runs alongside two RBIs and a double.

• Jefferis, a native of Valencia, California, is one of five USD players to have started in every game, and his .452 batting average in 2021 so far leads all Toreros.

SHAW SHUTS DOWN TRITONS
• Kieran Shaw was dominant coming out of the bullpen last weekend against UC San Diego, tossing 4 2/3 combined scoreless and hitless innings on Thursday and Sunday, twice quelling the Tritons' rallies as the game hung in the balance to help his team earn victories.

• On Thursday, the right-hander entered in the eighth inning with the bases loaded and nobody out and struck out the side —  all three batters swinging — protecting a 9-4 USD lead.

• And on Sunday, head coach Rich Hill called on Shaw again in a make-or-break situation after the Tritons advanced a runner to third with one out to threaten a two-run San Diego advantage.  The graduate transfer again extinguished the UCSD rally, this time doing so on just six pitches with a strikeout and a ground ball.

• He would go on to pitch the game's final 3 2/3 innings to close out an 8-2 win for USD that secured their sweep of the Tritons.

REMARKABLE START BY ROMERO
• True freshman Ivran Romero (Poway High School) has now thrown 10 consecutive scoreless innings to begin his college career after putting up 3 1/3 dominant frames last Friday against UCSD.

• Between four appearances versus San Diego State, Cal State Fullerton, and the Tritons, the 5-10 righty has allowed just six hits and has struck out nine.

• Three of his four outings (SDSU, 2/21, CSUF, 2/28, UCSD, 3/5) have been for more than three innings, and nearly all of them have come in high-leverage situations.

J. MILLER STAYS STRONG
• Jake Miller (2-1) turned in his second consecutive quality start on Thursday, receiving the win after pitching five innings while scattering three hits, walking two, and striking out five.

• In his last 10 innings of work, the sophomore righty has surrendered just two earned runs and eight hits, notching 14 strikeouts between his starts against Cal State Fullerton and UC San Diego.

HYDE STEPS UP
• Freshman Jack Hyde (Grossmont High School) made his 2021 debut on the mound Sunday and came up big for the Toreros.

• The 6-foot-2 right-hander threw 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball, scattering four hits while walking one and striking out two.

• He was able to settle in after allowing a run in the top of the first, throwing 3 2/3 scoreless frames to end his outing.

BEST IN THE (BIG) WEST (COAST CONFERENCE)
• The Toreros' upcoming series with UC Riverside will conclude a streak of 11 consecutive games against opponents from the Big West conference (Cal State Fullerton, UC San Diego), a span that USD has gone 6-1 in so far.

• Additionally, from the beginning of the 2019 season until now, no team in the West Coast Conference has had a better record than San Diego baseball. Combining their 2019 record (32-21), their abbreviated 2020 totals (12-4), and their 7-3 mark so far this year, the Toreros are a conference-best 51-28 (.645) in that 79-game span.

• Next best within that timeframe are Saint Mary's (49-36, .576), and BYU (46-34, .575).

STAYING LOCAL
• The Toreros' series against UC Riverside this weekend concludes a stretch of 14 consecutive games in the San Diego area to begin the season, eight against schools from the UC system, and 11 straight against Big West teams.

• Additionally, each of USD's first 14 games in 2021 are versus California public schools.

That stretch includes:
• Two away games at San Diego State
• One home game versus San Diego State
• Three home games versus Cal State Fullerton
• Two away games at UC San Diego
• Two home games versus UC San Diego
• Four home games (one doubleheader) versus UC Riverside