San Diego (9-6, 0-0 WCC)  •  Pepperdine (9-6, 0-0 WCC)
Eddy D. Field Stadium (1,800) • Malibu, CA
Live Stream  •  WCC Network  |  Live Statistics  •   PepperdineWaves.com
Social  •  Twitter.com/USDBaseball  •  Instagram.com/USDBaseball

MALIBU, Calif. — After a series win at Grand Canyon and a hard-fought midweek victory over Cal State Fullerton, San Diego baseball is set to begin West Coast Conference play this weekend, traveling to Malibu, California for a three-game set at Pepperdine.

The series is set to begin with a 3 p.m. first pitch on Friday at Eddy D. Field Stadium, followed by a 1 p.m. start on both Saturday and Sunday.

All three games will be broadcast live on the WCC Network. Live statistics will be available on PepperdineWaves.com.

LAST TIME OUT
• The Toreros rebounded from a Friday night loss to take two of three from the Lopes in Phoenix last weekend, dropping a tough 6-5 decision at GCU Ballpark (March 11) before winning by scores of 7-1 (March 12) and 7-5 (March 13) to secure the series.

• The team then returned home and prevailed in a wild Tuesday night contest versus the Titans at Fowler Park (March 15), hanging on for an 11-10 victory over CSUF that marked San Diego's third straight win.

ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS PEPPERDINE
• The Toreros are 76-130 all-time versus the Waves but have won their last three matchups with Pepperdine after sweeping the season series last year.

• The two programs last met in late April and early May of 2021, with USD earning wins by scores of 8-3, 7-6, and 10-9 at Fowler Park.

• San Diego's victory in the series finale came in dramatic fashion, with the Toreros' plating five runs in the bottom of the ninth for the walk-off win, which came when eventual WCC Player of The Year Thomas Luevano was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

FOR STARTERS (PROBABLE)
FRIDAY: Senior righty Garrett Rennie will reprise his role as the Toreros' Friday night starter in game one, marking the fifth consecutive week in which the Los Alamitos, California native has began a series on the mound for USD.

• Rennie turned in a solid effort last time out at Grand Canyon (3/11), going seven innings while allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits, walking one and striking out two in the process.

• For the season he's 1-1 with a 2.88 ERA and 20 strikeouts across a tied-for-team-high 25 innings pitched and four outings (all starts).

• Rennie joined USD from Long Beach City College, where he was named the 2019 South Coast Conference Pitcher/Athlete of the Year, the 2019 LBCC Pitcher of the Year, and to the 2019 First Team All-State Team.

• While at Long Beach City College in 2018 and 2019, Rennie went 14-5 with four saves, one complete game, 142.1 innings pitched, 135 strikeouts, 19 walks, a 8.54 K/9, and a 2.40 ERA.

SATURDAY: Fresh off the most dominant start of his USD career so far, sophomore lefty Brycen Mautz will take the mound for the Toreros on Saturday.

• The San Diego, California native (Westview High School) tossed seven shutout innings versus the Lopes, fanning nine GCU batters as he tied his season low with just a single walk and earned the win.

• As of Tuesday, Mautz led all NCAA Division I pitchers with 45 total strikeouts so far this season.

• For the season he's 3-1 with a 3.96 ERA in 25 innings pitched.

• His three wins leads the team, and his 25 innings pitched is tied with Rennie for the most on the USD roster.

SUNDAY: Redshirt freshman right-hander Ryan Kysar is set to start for the Toreros on Sunday after an impressive outing last Sunday at GCU.

• Kysar tossed four innings and allowed just two runs (both earned) against the Lopes, walking two against four strikeouts.

• The start marked his second-longest outing of the season after throwing 4.1 frames on February 21 in his first college appearance versus Oregon, the two runs he surrendered were the least he's allowed in an appearance that was three innings or longer, and his four strikeouts were one off his season high.

SIM NAMED WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Sophomore infielder Kevin Sim earned his first career West Coast Conference Player of the Week honor for his performance against UC San Diego and Grand Canyon, the conference announced on Monday afternoon.

• Sim went 5-for-15 (.333) across a mid-week matchup with the Tritons and a three-game road set versus the Lopes. The San Diego, California native (Torrey Pines High School) had two doubles, two home runs, three RBIs, three walks, and four runs scored across the four-game stretch, including a 3-for-4 performance in Friday night's game versus GCU and towering home runs in both Saturday's and Sunday's contests, the latter of which gave San Diego its first lead of the afternoon, keyed off a big rally, and pushed the Toreros to a 7-5 win.

• For the season Sim is batting .351 (20-for-57) with four doubles, a team-high seven home runs and 20 RBIs, a remarkable .789 slugging percentage, and a .448 on-base percentage.

COSTELLO KEEPS CRUSHING IT
• Sophomore Jack Costello has picked up right where he left off this season after a dynamic college debut a year ago, hitting safely in all but one of the Toreros' 15 games so far in 2022.

• The Simi Valley, California native began the campaign on a 10-game hit streak (one that stretched to 15 games if you count his final five contest of 2021).

• After finally going hitless on March 8 versus UCSD, Costello promptly rebounded with knocks in all three of USD's games at Grand Canyon over the weekend, including a pair of multi-hit performances on Saturday and Sunday.

• He was 6-for-14 (.428) with a pair of doubles, a run scored, and three RBIs in the series, with three hits on Saturday, and two more on Sunday as he helped the Toreros to a pair of wins over the Lopes.

• Costello has hit safely in 44 of the 56 games he played in so far at USD.

• Since going hitless in his first two college appearances on February 21 and 27, 2021, he's been hitless just 10 times, and 25 of his 55 college games so far have resulted in a multi-hit performance, including eight multi-hit games out of 14 total contests so far in 2022.

• On Tuesday night versus CSUF, Costello bounced back from an 0-for-3 start to the evening with a double down the left field line, extending his hit streak to four

• For the season Costello is batting .381 (24-for-63) with six doubles, two home runs, 13 RBIs, and 36 total bases. His .571 slugging percentage is second to only Sim, and his .412 on-base percentage is sixth.

RICKETTS HEATING UP
• Junior catcher Caleb Ricketts continued to heat up last week, going 10-for-19 (.526) with three runs scored, four RBIs, a walk, and a two home runs across a game versus UCSD, three at GCU, and one versus CSUF.

• The Newport Beach, California native was 2-for-3 on March 8, 1-for-4 on Friday, 1-for-3 on Saturday, and 1-for-4 on Sunday, following up Kevin Sim's go-ahead solo shot with a longball of his own to extend the San Diego lead.

• His tear continued on Tuesday versus Cal State Fullerton, putting together a 3-for-5 night that included a towering solo home run (his third of the year).

• The Newport Beach, California native's trio of hits tied his season high, which he set on February 21 versus Oregon.

• For the season he's batting .293 (17-for-58) with three home runs, three four, a triple, and nine RBIs.

ALLEN KEY ACROSS THE BOARD
• Sophomore outfielder Dustin Allen put together an impressive performance last week, going 6-for-14 (.428) across three games at GCU and one versus Cal State Fullerton with three runs scored, four RBIs, and a handful of key hits.

• On Friday, he extended the San Diego advantage by sending a ground ball to short that plated Camden Vasquez, on Saturday, he drove in another run with a single through the right side, on Sunday, he grinded out a seven-pitch at-bat to a full count before he shot another single through the left side for another RBI, then singled yet again to center field for a big insurance run, an on Tuesday he pushed a textbook squeeze bunt up the first base line with two outs for a hit and an RBI.

• For the season he's batting .271 (13-for-48) with two doubles, a triple, a home run, and 12 RBIs.

CARR MAKES USD DEBUT
• Redshirt sophomore Kyle Carr made his USD debut last Friday at GCU and picked up his first hit, run scored, run batted in, and stolen base over the weekend.

• Carr (San Marcos High School) missed all of last season and the beginning of this season due to injury, but was named the Perfect Game WCC Preseason Freshman of the Year in January.

MEIDROTH AND JEFFERIS SHINE VERSUS CSUF
• Sophomore infielder Chase Meidroth and junior shortstop Cody Jefferis both notched three hits on Tuesday night against the Titans as they helped San Diego to a 11-10 win.

• Meidroth was 3-for-6 with a game-high three runs scored and two RBIs, marking his sixth multi-hit performance so far this year.

• Jefferis joined Meidroth with three hits of his own (3-for-5), marking the shortstop's third multi-hit game of the year and the most he's racked up in a single contest so far this season.

VASQUEZ CONTINUES HOT START
• Redshirt sophomore Camden Vasquez has four hits in his last four games (4-for-11, .363) and leads the Toreros with an even .400 batting average (12-for-30).

• Vasquez notched three hits on Sunday in his home state, helping San Diego beat Grand Canyon with three singles as it secured the series win.

TORERO TIDBITS
• True freshman infielder Justin DeCriscio was 1-for-3 with a single on Tuesday and has now hit safely in three out of his last five games.

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), their 33-12 mark in 2021, and their 9-6 record so far in 2022, the Toreros are a conference-best 86-43 (.666) in that 129-game span.

•Next best within that timeframe are Gonzaga (83-55, .601), and Saint Mary's (85-61, .582).