SAN DIEGO — More resilience at the plate saw San Diego baseball (3-0-1, 0-0 WCC) earn a hard-fought 16-16 tie with Nebraska (0-3-1, 0-0 Big 10) on Monday afternoon at Fowler Park, storming back to erase a late-game six-run deficit in a series finale that was shortened to seven innings due to the Cornhuskers' travel arrangements.
After falling behind by a 4-0 margin in the top of the second, USD erased Nebraska's early lead with a nine-run fourth inning. Up-and-down play through the later stages of the game led to a 16-10 Nebraska advantage, which the Toreros' promptly overcame with a six-run seventh inning. A previously agreed upon time limit then ended the game after seven innings, tied 16-16, to accommodate the Cornhuskers' travel out of San Diego.
USD took the four-game series after winning three straight over Nebraska on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
NEVER OUT OF THE FIGHT
- Nebraska got the scoring started with a solo home run in the top of the first, then added on with a three-run second.
- San Diego struck back when graduate transfer catcher Andrew Semo (Fordham, The Bishop's School) notched his first hit and RBI as a Torero, shooting a line drive single into left field to bring home junior infielder Will Worthington and make it 4-1.
- USD surged ahead to take its first lead of the afternoon in the bottom of the fourth, beginning when junior infielder Kevin Sim (Torrey Pines High School) and junior outfielder Angelo Peraza (St. Augustine High School) drew a pair of leadoff walks.
- Sophomore transfer two-way player Austin Smith (UC San Diego, Granite Hills High School) followed with a sacrifice bunt, which turned into a USD run when Nebraska pitcher Austin Berggren's throw to first base sailed high and wide, scoring Sim before Peraza advanced to third.
- Worthington got the Toreros back within a run when he plated Peraza with a sacrifice fly, then Semo executed a suicide squeeze to perfection to tie the game at four, bringing in Smith when he pushed a bunt back to Berggren, who delivered a high glove flip to catcher Ben Columbus that got knocked loose as he attempted to apply the tag.
- Sophomore shortstop Justin DeCriscio followed with a two-out single, then graduate transfer second baseman James Arakawa drew a walk, loading the bases for Jack Costello.
- The junior infielder proceeded to hammer the fifth pitch he saw over Fowler Park's left-center field fence for a go-ahead grand slam, plating Arakawa, DeCriscio, and Semo to make it an 8-4 game in USD's favor.
- Sim walked after the homer, which prompted a Nebraska pitching change. Peraza followed by turning on a 2-0 fastball, putting the third pitch he saw into the trees beyond Fowler Park's left field fence to put San Diego up 10-4 after four innings of play.
- The Cornhuskers answered with four runs in the top of the fifth on a pair of two-RBI singles, the second of which was aided by a Torero fielding error. By the end of the frame Nebraska had cut USD's advantage to just one run at 10-9.
- A two-run homer in the top of the sixth pushed the Cornhuskers back in front at 11-10, then the visitors added five runs in the top of the seventh to take a 16-10 lead into what would ultimately become Monday afternoon's final half inning.
- Peraza began the last-chance comeback bid when he was hit by the first pitch he saw, then Smith walked on four pitches. Worthington was then hit by a 2-2 offering, and the bases were loaded for Semo.
- Semo drew a five-pitch walk that brought in Peraza to make it 16-11, which prompted a Nebraska pitching change.
- After the break, DeCriscio sent a RBI sacrifice fly to left field to bring in Worthington, making it 16-13.
- James Arakawa was next but flew out to right field, bringing the Toreros down to their final out and Costello back up to the plate.
- The Simi Valley, California native hammered the second pitch he saw well over Fowler Park's left-field fence, scoring Allen and Semo to cap a remarkable last-chance comeback and tie the game at 16.
- The contest concluded after freshman infielder Jack Gurevitch grounded out to end the inning, leaving the two teams deadlocked at 16 after reaching the predetermined 3:00 p.m. no-new-inning deadline.
ON THE MOUND
- Sophomore righty Morgan Lunceford started the game on the mound for the Toreros, tossing four innings while surrendering four runs on seven hits, striking out six against a single walk in what marked the longest outing of his young career.
- Sophomore right-hander Jack Bunnell, a transfer from Washington, followed out of the bullpen with two thirds of an inning in his Torero debut.
- Freshman righties Aídan Gonzalez and Tristian LaMaison and junior right-hander Jack Hyde (Grossmont High School) teamed up to complete the contest on the mound, tossing 1.1, 0.2, and 0.1 innings apiece.
TORERO TIDBITS
- Costello paced the Torero offense with a 2-for-5 performance, homering twice to drive in seven runs and score a pair.
- Prior to Monday afternoon's contest he had just one hit in 2023, which came in the bottom of the ninth inning of Sunday's game.
- He was joined in having a multi-hit game by Semo, who notched his first two as a Torero as part of a 2-for-2 performance that saw him drive in three, score twice, and walk once.
- Arakawa was 1-for-3 with a run scored and a walk, matching DeCriscio's 1-for-3 afternoon that saw him drive in a run and score once.
- A day after he was the Toreros' walk-off hero in their 10-9 Sunday victory over Nebraska, Peraza was 1-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs, three runs scored, and a walk.
- Sim scored twice and walked twice while recording just a single at-bat.
- Smith was 0-for-2 but scored twice and walked once.
- Allen scored a run, drove in a run, and walked.
- USD took three games out of four from Nebraska, securing the Toreros a series win in a season-opening four-game series for the second consecutive year after San Diego won three out of four versus Oregon at Fowler Park from February 18-20, 2022.
UP NEXT
The Toreros will remain at home next weekend to compete in the Tony Gwynn Legacy tournament, beginning with a matchup against Hawaii on Friday evening. First pitch at Fowler Park is set for 6:00 p.m.
