SAN DIEGO — With a team effort on the mound and some late-game heroics from sophomore
Kevin Sim and true freshman
Justin DeCriscio, San Diego baseball (12-7, 2-1 WCC) earned another wild Tuesday night win, beating UC Irvine (13-7, 3-0 Big West) in extras by a 6-5 margin at Fowler Park.
SIM AND DECRISCIO PLAY THE HERO
- Junior shortstop Cody Jefferis got the scoring started for the Toreros in the bottom of the third, shooting a clutch RBI single back top the middle to plate reigning WCC Player of the Week Chase Meidroth (sophomore) and give his team an early lead.
- An inning later, graduate student RJ Teijeiro — who was making his first start of the season after missing USD's first 17 games with an injury — skied a towering sacrifice fly to Fowler Park's right field warning track that brought home junior utility player Caleb Ricketts and made it a 2-0 game.
- In the sixth, the Anteaters answered back and tied it with a sacrifice fly and a double, but Sim (Torrey Pines High School) had an answer of his own. With a 2-2 count and runners on first and second, the San Diego, California native laced a searing line drive over Fowler Park's left field wall, plating Jefferis and Meidroth to put his team ahead by a 5-2 margin.
- True to Tuesday night form, however, UC Irvine rallied to tie it at five in the top of the ninth with a three-run homer from left fielder Justin Torres, sending San Diego to its first extra-innings contest of 2022.
- After redshirt sophomore Conner Thurman held the Anteaters scoreless in the first extra frame, the Toreros began building a rally in the 10th.
- Ricketts singled to mark his third hit of the night, then catcher Ariel Armas (St. Augustine High School) walked on five pitches.
- Redshirt sophomore Camden Vasquez moved the runners to second and third with a groundout to first (the second out of the inning), and up to the plate strode DeCriscio.
- The Orange, California native slapped the first pitch he saw on a high bounce to UCI's third baseman, who elected to throw home as Ricketts dashed toward the plate.
- The throw sailed high as Ricketts slid safely to evade a tag that never came, earning DeCriscio the game-winning RBI and the Toreros a hard-fought 6-5 victory on Tuesday night over UC Irvine.
A TEAM EFFORT ON THE MOUND
- Sophomore lefty Cole Colleran began the game on the mound for San Diego in what marked his second career start.
- The Solana Beach, California native (Canyon Crest Academy) threw two perfect innings, striking out a pair before he gave way to junior righty Jack Dolak (St. Augustine High School), who also twirled a perfect frame.
- Up next was true freshman lefty Gabe Maya, who notched a strikeout in his college debut, followed by redshirt junior Ryan Robinson, who worked around a pair of hits with a strikeout in 1.2 scoreless innings of his own.
- Local righty Jack Hyde (Grossmont High School) chipped in with back-to-back scoreless innings in the sixth and seventh, allowing a hit against a pair of strikeouts, then Thurman entered for the eighth.
- The Mesa, Arizona native allowed three earned runs but fanned a season-high eight UC Irvine batters, including three straight Ks in the top of the eighth before he rallied to earn the win and move to 3-0 in 2022.
TORERO TIDBITS
- Ricketts led the way for the Toreros at the plate with three hits (3-for-3), two runs scored (including the winning run), and a walk.
- Armas matched his hit total with three of his own (3-for-4) and a walk.
- Meidroth, Jefferis, sophomore utility player Jack Costello, and Sim all had one hit on the evening, and Meidroth, Jefferis, Sim, and sophomore center fielder Dustin Allen all came around to score a run.
- Meidroth tied the game high with two walks on Tuesday and leads USD with 16 total walks so far this season.
- Allen prevented a run from scoring in the top of the fifth, making an outstanding diving catch in center field with runners on the corners to deny his counterpart Luke Spillane a base hit and end the inning.
UP NEXT
The Toreros will host conference opponent Saint Mary's this weekend for a three-game set in what marks their first home West Coast Conference series of the season. First pitch at Fowler Park on Friday is set for 6 p.m.