STOCKTON, Calif. — San Diego baseball (34-18, 17-10 WCC) earned its second consecutive West Coast Conference Tournament win in dominant fashion on Thursday night, dismantling two-seed Portland (31-22, 17-10 WCC) with a 19-hit barrage for a decisive 22-8 victory at Banner Island Ballpark.

BATS ERUPT IN OFFENSIVE TOUR DE FORCE

• San Diego scored in each of the first five innings on Thursday and plated runs in every inning except for the top of the sixth and the top of the ninth.
• The game, in which USD never trailed, saw the Toreros score one in the first, six in the second, two in the third, one in the fourth, seven in the seventh, and one in the eighth.
• Sophomore infielder Kevin Sim (Torrey Pines High School) got the scoring started with a sacrifice fly in the game's opening frame, plating junior shortstop Cody Jefferis to stake San Diego to a lead it would not come remotely close to relinquishing.
• A wild top of the second saw USD create separation and build its advantage in earnest, a sequence that began with a sacrifice fly from Jefferis before Sim drew an eight-pitch walk and the Toreros proceeded to wreak havoc on the basepaths.
• With runners on first (redshirt sophomore outfielder Camden Vasquez) and second (sophomore infielder Chase Meidroth) and two outs, the final ball of Sim's at-bat skipped past the Portland catcher. Vasquez, who was running on the pitch, never slowed down and scored easily, with Meidroth hot on his trail as he made his way to third. As Sim raced his way to second, an unsuccessful throw met him there, allowing Meidroth to dash home for the second run of the sequence after another Portland relay missed its mark.
• Junior catcher Caleb Ricketts then delivered perhaps the game's most emphatic blow, clobbering yet another towering two-run shot that marked his third homer in just two WCC Tournament games to make it 7-0 Toreros.
• Each of San Diego's first nine runs to begin the game (six earned) came off of Portland starter Brett Gillis, who earned WCC Pitcher of the Year honors on Tuesday.
• Sophomore utility player Angelo Peraza added another pair of runs for the Toreros in the top of the fourth with a two-RBI double to left-center field before the Pilots finally broke through with a run on an RBI single in the bottom of the frame to make it 10-1.
• San Diego promptly answered with four more runs in the top of the fifth, doing so with an RBI single from Sim, a sacrifice fly from Ricketts, and a line-drive home run to right field from graduate utility player RJ Teijeiro (his third of 2022) that wrapped just inside the foul pole to make it 14-1.
• Portland showed signs of life after plating three runs in the bottom of the fifth and four more in the bottom of the sixth, but a surging San Diego offense quickly quieted any aspirations of a Pilots comeback with a seven-run seventh that was powered by a Vasquez RBI single, an RBI double from sophomore center fielder Dustin Allen, back-to-back bases-loaded walks (Meidroth and Sim) followed by a bases-loaded hit by pitch (Ricketts), and an RBI single from Teijeiro.
• Sophomore infielder Will Worthington delivered the game's final blow in the top of the eighth after entering as a pinch hitter, making it 22-8 with a sacrifice fly to right field that plated true freshman catcher Ariel Armas (St. Augustine High School).

KYSAR HEADLINES TEAM EFFORT ON MOUND

• Redshirt freshman righty Ryan Kysar began the game on the mound for the Toreros and turned in 4.2 innings, scattering nine hits while allowing four runs, walking two, and striking out four.
• He was relieved by redshirt sophomore right-hander James Sashin, who tossed 0.2 innings while not allowing a hit but walked two and surrendered two earned runs with a strikeout.
• Sophomore lefty Cole Colleran (Canyon Crest Academy) was next with a third of an inning that saw him allow two runs on a hit and two walks with a strikeout.
• Redshirt junior right-hander Ryan Robinson followed with third of an inning of his own that extinguished the Pilots' four-run sixth with a strikeout.
• True freshman lefty Gabe Maya set forth San Diego's most impressive relief outing of the evening after he entered in the seventh, firing two scoreless frames while allowing just one hit, walking none, and striking out one.
• True freshman right-hander Morgan Lunceford finished the game with a scoreless ninth, working around a pair of hits with a strikeout to secure San Diego an emphatic 22-8 win over Portland.

TORERO TIDBITS

• Five Toreros notched three hits on Thursday night (Jefferis, Meidroth, Sim, Peraza, and Vasquez).
• Ricketts and Teijeiro were tied for the game high with four RBIs apiece, followed by Jefferis and Sim, who each drove in three, and Vasquez, who drove in two.
• Five Toreros — Jefferis, Meidroth, Sim, Peraza, and Vasquez — scored three runs against the Pilots.
• Costello scored twice, and Teijeiro scored once.
• Teijeiro and Costello each recorded a game-high seven at-bats on Thursday night.
• Peraza led the Toreros with two doubles, followed by Meidroth and Jefferis, who each doubled once.
• Every player in the San Diego starting lineup notched a hit.
• Meidroth and Sim had two walks against Portland, and were followed by Jefferis, Ricketts, Peraza, Allen, and junior utility player Max Jung-Goldberg, who drew a free pass after entering as a pinch hitter.
• Armas was 1-for-1 with a sharp single and a run scored after entering as a pinch hitter in the top of the seventh.
• Maya received his second college win on Thursday to move to 1-1 in 2022.
• San Diego's 22 runs scored against Portland on Thursday are the program's most since March 5, 2019, when the Toreros put up 31 runs in a blowout win at UC Riverside.

UP NEXT
The third-seeded Toreros will continue play in the WCC Tournament tomorrow afternoon with a matchup against one-seed Gonzaga. First pitch on Friday at Banner Island Ballpark is set for 3:35 p.m.