San Diego (16-7, 5-1 WCC)  •  San Francisco (14-14, 3-3 WCC)
Benedetti Diamond (1,000) • San Francisco, California
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SAN FRANCISCO — Winners of seven straight games and nine out of its last 10 contests, San Diego Baseball (16-7, 5-1 WCC) will continue its slate of away games this weekend, traveling to San Francisco to play the Dons (14-14, 3-3 WCC) at Benedetti Diamond.

All three games this weekend are set to begin at 1:00 p.m. and will be streamed live on the WCC Network. Live statistics will be provided on USFDons.com.

LAST TIME OUT
• The Toreros swept conference foe Saint Mary's last weekend (March 25-27) in convincing fashion, beating the Gaels by scores of 4-2 (10 innings), 4-1, and 11-6 at Fowler Park to notch USD's second consecutive series win to open West Coast Conference play (Pepperdine, March 18-20).

• USD then beat California Baptist on Tuesday night in Riverside, taking down the Lancers by a 7-2 margin at Totman Stadium to move to a perfect 4-0 in midweek contests.

ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS SAN FRANCISCO
• The Toreros are 88-60 against the Dons all-time, with the two programs' last meeting coming in mid-April of 2021, an 8-1 San Diego win at Fowler Park that secured USD a series win (two games out of three) over USF.

• San Diego, which is 6-4 in its last 10 overall matchups with San Francisco, last played at Benedetti Diamond in April of 2018, salvaging a three-game set with a 5-0 Sunday win after dropping the series' first two games.

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

• Rennie turned in a dominant effort last time out versus Saint Mary's, reaching career-highs in both innings pitched and strikeouts as he tossed 7.1 frames, fanned eight, and held the Gaels to just one run on five hits.

• The outing, in which Rennie walked just two, marked the fourth time so far this season that he's gone five innings or more while surrendering three runs or less.

• 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.

• For the season he's 1-2 with a 2.65 ERA in 37.1 total innings pitched, a mark that's second to only sophomore Brycen Mautz, who has 37.2.

SATURDAY: Sophomore lefty Brycen Mautz, who leads the West Coast Conference and ranks fourth nationally in total strikeouts (60), is set to start for San Diego on Saturday afternoon at San Francisco.

• Mautz turned in another stellar start last Saturday versus Saint Mary's, going 6.2 innings (one third of an inning shy of his career-high) as he held SMC to one run on four hits, striking out seven against a trio of walks.

• His start against the Gaels, which earned him his team-best fifth win of the year to move to 5-1, marked the fifth consecutive outing in which he's pitched at least six innings, and was fourth time in his last five starts that Mautz had pitched at least six innings while allowing one run or less.

• The San Diego, California native has posted a 3.11 ERA so far this season in a team-high 37.2 innings pitched, leads the WCC in strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.50) and ranks second in the conference with a remarkable 14.34 strikeouts per nine innings.

• Mautz, who attended nearby Westview High School, went 3-1 with a 4.67 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 27 innings pitched last year, including five perfect frames and nine Ks against UC Riverside in mid March.

SUNDAY: Redshirt freshman lefty Kyle Carr is scheduled to start on the mound for the Toreros on Sunday in what will mark his first career college pitching appearance.

• Carr, who missed all of last season and the first 11 contests of 2022 due to injury, has appeared in four games so far this year, all as the designated hitter, tallying a single, a double, a run batted in, and a run scored in 14 at-bats.

• Carr, a native of nearby San Marcos, California, attended San Marcos High School, where he was named the Team MVP (2019) and Defensive Player of the Year (2017) as he led his squad to both an Open Division Championship in the Lions Tournament and a league championship in 2018.

• Prior to this season, Carr was named the 2020 San Diego Summer League Incoming Freshman of the Year in addition to earning 2022 Perfect Game WCC Preseason Freshman of the Year honors in February.

IN THE RANKINGS
• San Diego checked in at No. 5 in the NCAA Division I RPI this Monday, up a spot from its previous season high of No. 6.

• The Toreros boast a win over the ranking's top team (Dallas Baptist, March 4), and three wins over the program in the No. 3 spot (Oregon, February 18, 19, and 20).

• The team also placed at No. 26 in Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's NCAA Div. I Baseball Poll on Monday, marking the first time this season USD has been ranked by the publication.

• The Toreros' lone previous ranking in 2022 came in late February, when San Diego landed at No. 22 in the Perfect Game Top 25.

RICKETTS NAMED WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Junior catcher Caleb Ricketts was named the WCC Player of the Week after a dynamic four-game stretch against UC Irvine and Saint Mary's, the West Coast Conference announced on Monday afternoon, marking the third consecutive week that a San Diego player has captured the award (Kevin Sim, March 14, Chase Meidroth, March 21).

• Ricketts went 8-for-14 (.571 across a game against the Anteaters and three against the Gaels, notching two doubles, a triple, a walk, an RBI, and five runs scored as the Toreros extended their win streak to a season-high six games.

• The Newport Beach, California native was 3-for-3 on Tuesday night against UC Irvine, notching a double and a walk before he came in to score the game's winning run in the bottom of the tenth.

• On Friday night versus Saint Mary's he notched three hits again, going 3-for-4 with a run scored and a double.

• On Saturday night he was 1-for-4 with a run scored, and on Sunday afternoon he was 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.

• He continued his tear on Tuesday evening at California Baptist, driving in a run on a pair of hits as part of a 2-for-5 performance as he extended his hit streak to a season-high five games.

• For the season he's batting .315 (28-for-89) with seven doubles, two triples, three home runs, and 11 RBIs.

MEIDROTH LEADS THE WAY
• Sophomore infielder Chase Meidroth continued to shine at the top of the San Diego lineup last week (and this week), going 9-for-9 (.500) with three RBIs, four runs scored, and four walks across a game versus UC Irvine, three against Saint Mary's, and one at California Baptist as he extended his hit streak to a season-high nine games.

• The Manhattan Beach, California native, who was named the WCC Player of the Week on March 21, was 1-for-3 with a run scored against the Anteaters last Tuesday, 3-for-5 opposite the Gaels in game one, 1-for-3 with a walk against Saint Mary's in game two, a dominant 2-for-3 with two runs scored, two RBIs, and two walks against SMC on Sunday in the series finale, and 2-for-4 on Tuesday evening at Totman Stadium as San Diego beat the Lancers to earn its seventh straight win.

•Meidroth was key in leading San Diego to a sweep over the Gaels, delivering a go-ahead single in the bottom of the eighth on Sunday to give the Toreros a late lead they would not relinquish.

•Meidroth, who was selected to the 2021 Northwoods League All-Star Game last summer, is batting a team-high .382 (34-for-89) with 19 runs scored, four doubles, four home runs, 19 RBIs, and a team-leading 20 walks so far in 2022.

• He has reached base in each of the Toreros' 23 games so far and boasts a team-leading .500 on-base percentage in addition to a .562 slugging percentage on the year, which is second only to sophomore infielder Kevin Sim.

CONSISTENT 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 two of the Toreros' 23 games so far in 2022 as he enters Friday afternoon's action on a six-game hit streak.

• Costello, who has hit safely in 53 of the 66 games he has played in so far at USD, kept things rolling by going 4-for-12 (.333) in USD's home set versus Saint Mary's this weekend, notching three runs scored and a pair of RBIs against the Gaels.

• He delivered the series's finishing blow on Sunday afternoon, clobbering a massive two-run homer to the deepest part of Fowler Park (right-center field) in the eighth inning, earning his team valuable insurance runs as they secured an 11-6 win.
• Costello added another two hits on Tuesday evening at California Baptist, going 2-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI in San Diego's 7-2 win over the Lancers.

• Since going hitless in his first two college appearances on February 21 and 27, 2021, he's been hitless just 11 times, and 28 of his 66 college games so far have resulted in a multi-hit performance, including 11 multi-hit games out of 23 total contests so far in 2022.

• Costello, who was named a Freshman All-American (2021), an All-WCC Freshman Team  member, an All-WCC Honorable Mention (2021), and a 2022 All-WCC Preseason Team selection, is  batting .347 (34-for-98) so far this season with a tied-for-team-high seven doubles, three home runs, 17 RBIs, and 60 total bases.

• His .506 slugging percentage ranks fifth and his .387 OBP is fourth among qualified USD batters.

DECRISCIO FINDING HIS STRIDE
• After an 0-for-12 start at the plate in his college debut, true freshman infielder Justin DeCriscio has turned things around as of late, going 13-for-37 (.351) in his last 11 games as he's racked up five total multi-hit performances in 2022.

• The Orange, California native had the game-winning RBI on Tuesday night against UC Irvine, driving in junior utility player Caleb Ricketts in the bottom of the 10th inning as the Toreros rallied for their third straight victory, and notched three hits in three games against Saint Mary's last weekend.

• DeCriscio, who was named to the 2021 ABCA/Rawlings High School Gold Glove Team in his senior year at Orange Lutheran, has shown off impressive defensive versatility as well, starting four games at second base and 10 at third.

JEFFERIS HEATING UP
• Junior shortstop Cody Jefferis continued to heat up at the plate over the weekend against Saint Mary's, going 3-for-11 (.272) with a pair of RBIs, two runs scored, and a walk.

• Jefferis, who was named to the 2022 All-West Coast Conference Preseason Team in February, made an outstanding diving play at shortstop on Sunday in addition to an early RBI that keyed off a three-run USD comeback.

• The Valencia, California native got the scoring started on Tuesday evening in Riverside, drawing a bases-loaded walk in the top of the first to plate the Toreros' first run of the game.

VASQUEZ CONTINUES TO SHINE IN THIRD SEASON
• Redshirt sophomore Camden Vasquez has three hits in his last three games and ranks second on the Toreros with a .353 batting average (18-for-51).

• Vasquez went 3-for-8 (.375) over the weekend versus Saint Mary's with two runs scored, a walk, and two RBIs, including the go-ahead run batted in in the Toreros' 11-6 win over the Gaels on Sunday that secured the sweep.

THURMAN DOMINANT AT CBU
• Redshirt sophomore Conner Thurman turned in the most dominant pitching performance of the night on Tuesday at California Baptist, striking out the side in both the eighth and ninth innings as he tossed a pair of scoreless frames to secure San Diego a 7-2 win.

• Thurman, who allowed just a single hit and walked none against his six total strikeouts against the Lancers, boasts a remarkable 37 strikeouts in 16.2 innings pitched against just five walks.

• Those 37 strikeouts rank second on the San Diego roster despite Thurman having thrown just the fourth-most innings on the team.

• For the season he's 3-0 with a 3.24 ERA and two saves.

POWER SURGE
• San Diego leads the West Coast Conference with 24 total home runs and 1.04 home runs per game entering Friday afternoon's action, and ranks 99th and 79th in the nation in each category, respectively.

• Sophomore infielder Kevin Sim (Torrey Pines High School) leads the team with nine longballs, a mark that tops the conference and is 25th in the country.

ABOVE AVERAGE
• Six San Diego players enter Friday afternoon's action with bating averages above .300 — Meidroth (.382), Vasquez (.353), Costello (.347), Peraza (.346), Sim (.333), and Ricketts (.315).

• As a team, the Toreros aren't too far behind, batting .293 (227-776).

GOLD GLOVES
• The Toreros' .977 team fielding percentage through 23 games so far in 2022 leads the conference and ranks 37th in the country.

NO FREE PASSES
• USD's 3.20 strikeout-to-walk ratio leads the conference and ranks 18th in the nation.

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 16-7 record so far in 2022, the Toreros are a conference-best 93-44 (.678) in that 137-game span.

• Next best within that timeframe are Gonzaga (88-57, .606), and Saint Mary's (86-68, .558).