San Diego (32-18, 17-10 WCC)  •  San Francisco (28-28, 14-13 WCC)
Banner Island Ballpark (5,200) • Stockton, California
Live Stream • WCC Network |  Live Statistics  • WCCSports.com
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STOCKTON, Calif. — San Diego baseball (32-18, 17-10 WCC) is set to compete in the West Coast Conference Baseball tournament for the first time in seven seasons this week, beginning play on Wednesday as the event's No. 3 seed with a matchup against sixth-seeded San Francisco (28-28, 14-13 WCC).

First pitch against the Dons at Banner Island Ballpark (5,200) is set for 3 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on the WCC Network with Steve Quis and Bryan Sleik on the call. Live statistics will be available on WCCSports.com.

SETTING THE STAGE
• San Diego's qualification for the WCC Tournament, which came after the Toreros placed tied for second in the league's regular season standings with Portland and behind first-place Gonzaga, marks the first time San Diego has appeared in the event since the 2015 season.

• That year saw the Toreros enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed after securing the 2015 regular-season WCC Championship with a 32-20 (19-8 WCC) overall record. The team's run in the tournament, however, was short-lived with USD suffering back-to-back defeats at the hands of Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine to conclude its season.

• 2015's squad was led in part by sophomore outfielder Ryan Kirby — now San Diego's volunteer assistant/first base coach — who batted .294 with three home runs, two doubles, and 19 RBI on the year.

• A win on Wednesday would be the program's first since 2013, when the Kris Bryant-led Toreros rallied to capture San Diego's first and only WCC Tournament Title.

• 2013 also marked the last time USD qualified for an NCAA Regional, one of eight times the team has done so since moving to Division I in 1980.

ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS SAN FRANCISCO
• The Toreros are 89-62 against the Dons all-time, with the two programs' last meetings coming earlier this season on April 1, 2, and 3 at Benedetti Diamond.

• San Diego cruised to an 8-3 victory in game one but dropped heartbreaking decisions in back-to-back games to conclude the series, taking a lead into the seventh inning of game two and the ninth inning of the series finale before falling by 6-5 and 3-2 margins on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

• Dating back to 2018 USD has won six out of its last 10 matchups against the Dons.

FOR STARTERS (PROBABLE)
• Senior right-hander Garrett Rennie will make his 11th start of 2022 when he takes the mound at Banner Island Ballpark on Wednesday in what marks a rematch of his April 1 outing against the Dons.

• The Los Alamitos, California native turned in a solid start that afternoon in San Francisco, setting forth 5.0 innings while scattering five hits, allowing three runs, walking three, and striking out five.

• He last appeared in San Diego's Saturday evening pitcher's duel with No. 10 Gonzaga, setting forth three scoreless frames out of the bullpen after entering in the top of the fifth inning. The relief appearance saw him work around three hits and three walks with a single strikeout while throwing 63 total pitches.

• Rennie, who started game one of each of San Diego's first 10 series in 2022, has compiled a 2-4 record with a 3.77 ERA in 59.2 innings pitched and 13 appearances so far this season, with 42 strikeouts to his credit against 21 walks.

• 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.

LAST TIME OUT
• San Diego took one game out of three from No. 10 Gonzaga over the weekend at Fowler Park to conclude its regular-season schedule, winning a decisive 7-4 contest in the series' middle game that was bookended by a pair of tough losses — 8-4 result on Friday and a 1-0 final in game two of Saturday's doubleheader.

BIG BATS
•The Toreros finished the 2022 regular season leading the West Coast Conference in nearly every major offensive category, including batting average (.286), on-base percentage (.381), slugging percentage (.429), and runs scored (328) while striking out the least of the league's 10 teams (314). USD finished second in total hits (496) and RBIs (302), tied for second in total home runs (46), and third in both walks (210), and stolen bases (60).

•Additionally, four qualified San Diego players enter Wednesday afternoon's action batting .300 or better.

Those players include:
•Caleb Ricketts, .357 (71-for-199)
•Chase Meidroth, .332 (68-for-205)
•Jack Costello, .317 (65-for-205)
•Kevin Sim, .300 (60-for-200)

GOLD GLOVES
•USD leads the conference and ranks 18th in the nation with a .979 fielding percentage through its 50 total games so far in 2022.

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 32-18 record so far in 2022, the Toreros are a conference-best 109-55 (.664) in that 164-game span.

•Next best within that timeframe are Gonzaga (106-65, .619), BYU (99-72, .578) and Saint Mary's (96-89, .518).

RICKETTS NAMED WCC PLAYER OF THE YEAR, EIGHT OTHER TOREROS HONORED
• After a dynamic season on both sides of the ball that saw him rank among the nation's leading catchers, junior Caleb Ricketts was named the 2022 WCC Player of the Year, the West Coast Conference announced on Tuesday morning, marking the second consecutive season that a Torero has taken home the league's top honor.

• Seven other San Diego players joined Ricketts — who was also selected to the All-WCC First Team — in earning an end-of-year conference accolade. Sophomore left-handed pitcher Brycen Mautz (Westview High School), and sophomore infielders Chase Meidroth and Kevin Sim (Torrey Pines High School) also landed on the All-WCC First Team, followed by graduate lefty Ian Churchill on the All-WCC Second Team, redshirt junior right-hander Ryan Robinson and graduate utility player RJ Teijeiro as All-WCC Honorable Mentions, and redshirt freshman Ryan Kysar on the All-WCC Freshman Team.

• Ricketts, a native of Newport Beach, California, is the 10th Torero to earn conference player of the year honors after Thomas Luevano received the distinction in 2021. He joins Luevano, Riley Adams (2017), Dave Rolls (1988), Kevin Herde (1993), Shane Buschini (2007), James Meador (2009 and 2010), Kris Bryant (2011 and 2013), Connor Joe (2014), and Kyle Holder (2015) in the USD record books.

• The junior led the WCC in hits and slugging percentage in 2022 (71 and .603), and paced the Toreros with a .357 (71-for-199) batting average that was good for second-best in the conference. He hammered 11 home runs (which was tied for the conference lead) alongside 12 doubles, two triples, 38 runs scored, 41 runs batted in, and a .463 on-base percentage.

• Behind the dish Ricketts continued to show his prowess, ranking third in the WCC with 14 runners caught stealing.

• Ricketts, who earned WCC Player of the Week honors on March 28 and was one of 16 players selected as a semifinalist for the 2022 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award on May 19, started 49 of San Diego's 50 regular-season games in 2022, including 33 at catcher, 11 in left field, one in right field, and four as the team's designated hitter.

• The WCC Player of the Year award and All-WCC First Team selection are Ricketts' second and third conference accolades after being named to the All-WCC Preseason Team prior to the 2021 campaign.

• He was joined on the All-WCC First Team by sophomore left-handed pitcher Brycen Mautz, who earned his first major conference award after leading the WCC in strikeouts with 111, a mark that ranks 10th nationally. The San Diego, California native paced USD with an 8-2 record in 2022 alongside a 4.02 ERA in a team-high 13 games started and 78.1 innings pitched. His 6.00 strikeout to walk ratio led the conference and ranked 29th nationally and his average of 13.10 strikeouts per nine led the WCC and was 13th nationally. The 6-foot-3 lefty was one of four WCC pitchers to turn in a complete game, tossed at least five innings in 12 of his 13 starts so far this season (the lone exception being a 4.2-inning effort in San Diego's 9-6 win over Pacific), and surrendered three earned runs or less in nine of those 13 outings. He was named the WCC Pitcher of the Week on April 18 and was selected as a Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week on March 7.

• Sophomore Chase Meidroth also earned All-WCC First Team Honors, the first major conference award for the infielder after being selected as the WCC Player of the Week on two occasions in 2022 (March 21 and May 2). Meidroth was second in the WCC with 68 total hits and batted .332 (68-for-205) with 10 home runs (one game shy of the conference lead), 17 doubles (also one game shy of the conference lead), 44 runs scored (second in the conference), 44 runs batted in (fifth in the conference), and 31 walks (sixth in the conference). His .435 on-base percentage ranked fourth among all WCC players and his .561 slugging percentage was fifth.

• Meidroth reached base in 44 of his 49 regular-season games in 2022, was tied with sophomore utility player Jack Costello for the Toreros' second-longest hit streak (10 games), leads the team in multi-hit games (21) and multi-RBI games (13), and owns USD's second-longest on-base streak of the season at 26.

• The Manhattan Beach, California native, who played in just six of San Diego's games as a freshman in 2021, started 49 of the Toreros' 50 contests this season, including 42 at second base and seven at third.

• Sophomore Kevin Sim rounded out USD's First Team selections after a powerful 2022 campaign that saw him bat an even .300 (60-for-200) with 11 home runs and 47 runs batted in, which were tied for the conference lead and second in the conference, respectively. He clubbed 12 doubles, added a pair of triples, and scored 44 runs in 2022, which was tied for second place in the conference with Meidroth. His eight stolen bases ranked second on the USD roster and his .545 slugging percentage was seventh among all WCC hitters.

• The San Diego, California native was one of three players to start all 50 of the Toreros' regular-season games, doing so with 42 at first base and eight as the team's designated hitter.

• Graduate left-handed pitcher Ian Churchill marked San Diego's lone Second Team selection, an honor that came after the Santa Barbara, California native cemented himself as one of the Toreros' most dependable options out of the bullpen.

• Churchill, who transferred to USD after two seasons at Santa Barbara City College and one at the University of Arizona, was 3-2 with a 4.10 ERA in 14 appearances (four starts) and 48.1 innings pitched in 2022, which was good for fourth most on the San Diego roster and the most of any relief pitcher.

• Redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Ryan Robinson was another key piece out of the San Diego bullpen and earned an All-WCC Honorable Mention for the second consecutive season for his efforts. The Livermore, California native pitched his way to a 2-0 record and a 2.01 ERA in 2022, notching 40 strikeouts against just nine total walks as he consistently worked his way through high-leverage situations.

• Graduate utility player RJ Teijeiro also earned an All-WCC Honorable Mention, breaking through after missing 53 games across last season and the beginning of 2022 due to injury to hit .294 (30-for-102) in 30 total contests. He came around to score 12 runs, drove in 19 more, ripped four doubles, and homered twice, including a walk-off winner in the bottom of the 10th on March 25 against Saint Mary's, a two-run shot that marked his first college longball.

• Teijeiro, a native of Foster City, California who transferred to USD after graduating from UCLA in three years, started 26 games for the Toreros in 2022, including five at first base and 21 as the team's designated hitter.

• Redshirt sophomore right-hander Ryan Kysar rounded out the Toreros' 2022 All-WCC accolades with a selection to the All-WCC Freshman team, an honor that came after an impressive college debut that saw him steadily improve as the season progressed.

• The Valencia, California native finished the season with his most impressive college outing yet, tossing 6.0 innings of two-run ball against No. 10 Gonzaga at Fowler Park to earn his fourth win of the season and move to 4-0 in 2022. The outing, in which he worked around a trio of walks with a pair of strikeouts, marked his fifth appearance of five innings or more in 2022, including three straight games with at least six innings pitched to conclude the regular season.

• His final regular-season numbers: 4-0, 4.50 ERA, 50.0 IP, 45 K, 20 BB.

ROMERO KEEPS ON ROLLING OUT OF BULLPEN
•Sophomore righty Ivran Romero (Poway High School) set forth a career outing in San Diego's series finale in Stockton on May 8, tossing a career-high 5.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen against the Tigers to earn his third win of 2022, allowing just three hits, walking none, and striking out seven, which is tied for his career high.

• He followed that up with another dynamic outing in relief against No. 10 Gonzaga, tossing four innings of one-run ball while scattering four hits with a walk against three strikeouts.

•For the season Romero is 3-3 with a 1.86 ERA in 38.2 total innings pitched and has 37 strikeouts to his credit against just eight walks.

FOWLER MAGIC…ON THE ROAD?
• San Diego's five total walk-off wins (March 4 vs. Dallas Baptist, March 22 vs. UC Irvine, March 25 vs. Saint Mary's, and April 14 and 15 vs. Loyola Marymount) so far this season has already surpassed the team's remarkable walk-off total from 2021 (4).

• USD has twice walked-off in back-to-back contests (March 22 and March 25, April 14 and 15) and has done so via a bases-clearing double (Kevin Sim, March 4), an RBI fielder's choice (Justin DeCriscio, March 22), a two-run homer (RJ Teijeiro, March 25), and a pair of RBI singles (Dustin Allen and Angelo Peraza, April 14 and 15).

•Three of the five walk-off winners for San Diego in 2022 have come in extra innings (the team is 3-1 in extra-innings contests) and USD has rallied for a combined nine runs from the bottom of the ninth inning on in those games.