San Diego (18-4, 5-1 WCC)  •  Cal State Fullerton (9-13, 5-3 Big West)
Fowler Park (1,700)  •  San Diego, California | Goodwin Field (3,500) • Fullerton, CA
Live Stream/Television  •  BigWest.TV/ESPNU |  Live Statistics  •   FullertonTitans.com & USDToreros.com
Social  •  Twitter.com/USDBaseball  •  Instagram.com/USDBaseball

SAN DIEGO — San Diego baseball (18-4, 5-1 WCC) continues its 2021 season when it travels to Cal State Fullerton (9-13, 5-3 Big West) on Friday (April 2) before returning home to Fowler Park on Saturday (April 3) to host the Titans for the fourth time this season.

The two-game series marks the second time the two teams have faced each other this season; they squared off for a three-game set in San Diego in late February. 

Friday's game will be streamed live on the BigWest.TV, and Saturday's contest will be televised nationally on ESPNU from Fowler Park, with Roxy Bernstein (play-by-play) and Wes Clements (analyst) on the call.

USD was originally scheduled to play Pepperdine at Fowler Park on April 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, but the series with the Waves was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols within the Pepperdine program. The games have now been rescheduled for May 27th, 28th, and 29th in San Diego.

USD Athletics is excited to welcome back limited spectators for home events. No tickets are available for the general public. Click here for more information regarding our 2021 spring season fan policy.
 
Fans can cheer on the Toreros on Saturday through live statistics coverage on USDToreros.com, by following USD Baseball on social media, and by tuning in to ESPNU.
 

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST CAL STATE FULLERTON
• San Diego is 17-64-3 all-time against the Titans dating back to the two programs' first meeting in 1965.

• The Toreros enter Thursday's contest having won four of their last five games against Cal State Fullerton, a span that dates back to April of 2018.

• Earlier this season the Toreros took two games out of three from CSUF at Fowler Park, beating the Titans by scores of 6-1 and 6-5 before dropping a 5-1 decision in the series finale.

• Since Fowler Park opened in 2013, the Toreros are 6-3 at home against the Titans, while they are just 1-4 on the road at Fullerton in that span. Three of USD's wins versus CSUF in that timeframe — both at home and on the road — have been while the Titans are ranked in the Top 25.

FOR STARTERS (PROBABLE)

FRIDAY: Sophomore Jake Miller will start USD's first game of a series for the seventh week in a row when he takes the mound against Fullerton on Friday.

• Miller is 3-1 with a 2.63 ERA so far this season, is tied for the team lead in innings pitched (27.1), and leads the team in total strikeouts (41).

• In his most recent outing versus Pacific last Friday, the 6-2 righty struck out 10 through just 4.2 innings pitched, scattering five hits and walking only one while surrendering zero earned runs.

• His 10-strikeout performance against the Tigers on 3/26 marked the second time Miller has fanned 10 batters (3/12 vs. UC Riverside).

AGAINST CSUF ON FEBRUARY 26…Miller allowed only one earned run while scattering five hits across five innings of work. The sophomore right-hander recorded nine strikeouts, which was one shy of his career high (10)  and received the win for the game.

THURSDAY: Redshirt freshman Conner Thurman will reprise his role as San Diego's game two starter on Thursday against Fullerton, making his fourth consecutive game two start.

• Thurman is 2-1 with a 1.65 ERA so far this season, is tied for the team lead in innings pitched with Miller (27.1), and is just one strikeout shy of Miller's team-leading 41 strikeouts.

• In his most recent outing versus Pacific last Saturday, Thurman threw 4.2 innings, allowing zero earned runs while scattering five hits, walking three, and striking out four..

• Thurman was named the WCC Pitcher of the Week on March 16.

AGAINST CSUF ON FEBRUARY 26…The redshirt freshman fanned the first six batters he faced in relief, 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.

LAST TIME OUT
TUESDAY: The Toreros handily defeated NAIA opponent Vanguard University on Tuesday night, taking down the Lions by a score of 10-4 at Fowler Park in their mid-week non-conference tuneup.

• Graduate student Thomas Luevano paced the San Diego offense with two hits, two runs scored, and three RBIs.

• Freshman righty Lucas Braun turned in the most impressive pitching performance of the night, earning his first win of the year after going three shutout innings with three strikeouts while allowing only two hits.

LAST WEEKEND: The Toreros executed a convincing three-game sweep over conference opponent Pacific last weekend, beating the Tigers 3-1 (3/26), 15-3 (3/27), and 5-1 (3/28) as they outscored them by a 23-5 margin.

• San Diego has now won 18 of its last 20 games, is on a six-game win streak, and has prevailed in each of its last five series in a row (Cal State Fullerton, UC San Diego, UC Riverside, Saint Mary's College, University of the Pacific).

POLL POSITION
• For the second week in a row, USD came in at No. 29 in the Collegiate Baseball national poll.

• The Toreros' recent ranking marks 15 years in a row of the team being nationally ranked by at least one national college baseball publication.

MCGUIRE NAMED WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Shane McGuire was at the center of San Diego baseball's success last week, going 8-16 (.500) with five RBIs, six runs scored, two doubles, two walks, a stolen base, and a home run across a game at USC and three conference contests versus Pacific.

• For his efforts, the junior catcher/first baseman was named WCC Player of the Week on Monday.

• Last Tuesday night (3/23) in Los Angeles against the Trojans, McGuire delivered an RBI double down the right field line in the top of the ninth inning to tie the game at five runs apiece, helping the Toreros earn a comeback win at Dedeaux Field.

• And in his team's weekend sweep of the Tigers (3/26-3/28), the Kent, Washington native recorded at least one hit in each game, going 4-4 with a home run, four RBIs, three runs scored, a double, and a walk on Saturday before going 2-2 with two runs scored in the series finale on Sunday.

• McGuire is now batting .358 (29-78) with 32 runs scored so far this season, which leads the team and ranks third in the nation.

• He also earned a spot on D1Baseball.com's "Top 30 Catchers" list on March 23, coming in at No. 9 in the national position ranking.

REMARKABLE START CONTINUES FOR ROMERO
• True freshman Ivran Romero (Poway High School) has now thrown 20 consecutive scoreless innings out of the bullpen to begin his college career.

• Nearly all of his outings have come in high-leverage situations, and the San Diego native has pitched three innings or more in five of his nine relief appearances so far this season.

• That includes Sunday afternoon's series finale against Pacific, when the young right-hander tossed three scoreless frames while allowing only three hits and striking out four.

COSTELLO STAYS HOT
• Though his team-best 12-game hit streak came to an end on Friday against the Tigers, true freshman Jack Costello has remained one of the Toreros' most dynamic hitters thus far in 2021.

• He rebounded from that rare 0-4 performance to record another three hits in Saturday's contest, marking his team-high 11th multi-hit game this season.

• The Simi Valley, California native is now batting a WCC-high .429 (30-70) on the year with 10 RBIs, 17 runs scored, seven doubles, a triple and a home run.

• On March 25, Costello was one of ten players named to Baseball America's Freshman of the Year award watch list.

KUNST MUSCLES UP
• Graduate student Paul Kunst notched his first two home runs of the 2021 season last weekend against Pacific, with each coming at an opportune time for the Toreros.

• His first homer — a solo shot to left field — tied Friday's game at one run apiece, answering an early score by the Tigers.

• And his second — also a solo shot to left field — gave his team an early lead in Saturday's contest that it would not relinquish.

• After missing the first four games of the season with an injury, Kunst is batting .368 (21-57) with 15 RBIs, 14 runs scored, and a double so far in 2021. Additionally, his four sacrifice flies ranks fifth in the nation.

JEFFERIS STAYS STEADY
• Sophomore shortstop Cody Jefferis has been perhaps the Toreros' most consistent hitter thus far, posting a .386 (34-88) batting average with 20 RBIs, 18 runs scored, eight doubles, and 45 total bases though all 22 of San Diego's games.

• One of just just five USD players to have started every game and the only one to have started every game at one position, Jefferis kept up his productive ways at the plate against Pacific, notching hits in all three contests and multiple hits in two out of the three games against the Tigers.

• The Valencia, California native has also provided plus defense up the middle, frequently saving runs and taking hits away with his diving stops.

ALLEN IMPRESSES IN EARLY OFFERINGS
• True freshman Dustin Allen made the most of his first college start on Friday against Pacific, going 2-3 with an RBI double.

• The Arcadia, California native set forth an even more impressive performance the following night, going 4-4 with three runs scored on Saturday against the Tigers.

TORERO BATS LEAD THE WAY
• San Diego's 190 runs scored through Tuesday (3/30) leads the WCC by a 36-run margin, and the team's offense as a whole has topped the charts in several categories within the conference.

Those categories include:
Hits (248), First in the WCC
Doubles (60), First in the WCC
RBIs (176), First in the WCC
Batting average (.324), First in the WCC
On-base percentage (.412), First in the WCC
Slugging percentage (.495), First in the WCC

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE
• USD's team batting average (.324) ranks fourth in the nation, and the Toreros' hot start at the plate has propelled the team into the top 20 of several offensive categories within all of NCAA Division I.

Those categories include:
(Categories in which San Diego is in the top five are in bold)
Batting average (.324), 4th in the NCAA
Total hits (248), 4th in the NCAA
On Base Percentage (.412), 14th in the NCAA
Slugging Percentage (.495), 12th in the NCAA
Runs scored (190), 5th in the NCAA
Doubles (60), 2nd in the NCAA
Doubles per game (2.73) 1st in the NCAA
Hit by Pitch (49), 3rd in the NCAA
Sacrifice Flies (20), 1st in the NCAA

RBI MACHINES
• San Diego's explosive start at the plate in 2021 has also helped vault four Toreros to the top of the WCC's offensive leaderboards.

• Graduate student Thomas Luevano (first, 34 RBIs), senior Adam Lopez (second, 30 RBIs), junior Shane McGuire (fourth, 24 RBIs) and sophomore Cody Jefferis (seventh, 20 RBIs) each own a spot on the conference's list of top RBI producers.

QUALITY AT-BATS
• Similarly, three Toreros have found themselves ranked in the NCAA's top 20 list of "Toughest players to Strike Out."

• Adam Lopez leads the way with a ranking of No. 7, Paul Kunst checks in at No. 14, and Shane McGuire came in at No. 19.

BEST 20-GAME START IN NEARLY 20 YEARS
• The Toreros' 16-4 start through their first 20 games this season is the team's best since 2002, when fourth-year head coach Rich Hill led his team to a 17-3 record to begin the season.

• San Diego's 18-4 start in 2021 matches the 2002 squad's record through its first 22 games in 2002.

BEST IN THE WEST (COAST CONFERENCE)
• 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 18-4 mark so far this year, the Toreros are a conference-best 62-29 (.681) in that 91-game span.

• Next best within that timeframe are Saint Mary's (58-41, .585) and BYU (51-39, .566).