San Diego (6-8-1, 0-0 WCC)  •  Pacific (6-8, 0-0 WCC)

Fowler Park (1,700) • San Diego, California

Live Stream • WCC Network  |  Live Statistics  • USDToreros.com

Social  •  Twitter.com/USDBaseball  •  Instagram.com/USDBaseball

SAN DIEGO — After completing its longest road trip of the 2023 season last week, San Diego baseball will return to Fowler Park this weekend for the first time in 18 days as it begins West Coast Conference play by hosting Pacific.

The three-game set is slated to get underway on Friday with a 6:00 p.m. first pitch, followed by a 5:00 p.m. matchup on Saturday and a 1:00 p.m. start in Sunday's series finale.

All three contests will be streamed live on the WCC Network. Jack Cronin will have the call for the first two games on Friday and Saturday before Braden Surprenant broadcasts game three on Sunday. Live statistics will be available on USDToreros.com.

LAST TIME OUT
• San Diego took one of three games at No. 10 TCU over the weekend in Fort Worth, dominating the Horned Frogs in a big 14-2 win on Friday before falling by scores of 3-1 and 5-4 on Saturday and Sunday.

• USD outscored No. 10 TCU by a 19-10 margin across the three-game set at Lupton Stadium but lost twice by a combined three runs.

ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS PACIFIC
• The Toreros are 23-7 all-time against the Tigers, with the two teams' most recent meeting coming last spring, a dominant three-game USD sweep of Pacific at Klein Family Field from May 6-8, 2022. San Diego took down the Tigers by scores of 9-4, 9-6, and 12-5 that weekend.

• USD has won each of its last seven matchups with Pacific, a streak that dates back to May 12, 2019.

• San Diego last lost to the Tigers on May 11, 2019, a tough 16-7 defeat at Fowler Park.

FOR STARTERS (PROBABLE)
Friday: Redshirt junior righty James Sashin is set to make his fifth start of the season and the sixth of his career when he takes the mound against the Tigers in Friday night's series opener.

• Sashin, a Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts native who spent time with both USD's football and club baseball programs before joining USD's Division I baseball team as a walk-on, has posted a team-best 2.33 ERA through 19.1 total frames so far in 2023, striking out 19 batters while working around 12 walks.

• He pitched twice on the Toreros' eight-game road swing last week and set forth career-best efforts in both outings, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks at Oregon (March 3) across a then-career-high 5.2 innings while striking out a career-high eight before turning in his best start thus far as a Torero a week later at No. 10 TCU (March 10), holding the Horned Frogs to a single run while scattering six hits across a career-high six innings and walking none for the first time in 2023.

James Sashin - March 3 at Oregon:

• 5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 K -Career highs in innings pitched, strikeouts
• Season-low in walks

James Sashin - March 10 at No. 10 TCU:

• 6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
• New career high in innings pitched
• New season-low in walks

• Sashin's first two outings in 2023 (7.2 IP): 10 walks, 5 strikeouts

• Sashin's last two outings in 2023 (11.2 IP): 2 walks, 14 strikeouts

Saturday: Graduate right-hander Garrett Rennie will begin Saturday's game on the mound for the Toreros in what marks his fifth start of 2023 and the 16th of his career.

• He turned in a solid start last time out on March 11 at No. 10 TCU, holding the Horned Frogs to just two earned runs on three hits across six innings at Lupton Stadium, walking just one while striking out five.

• Rennie set a new career high in strikeouts in his last outing at Fowler Park (February 26), fanning nine Hustlin' Rebels across six innings of work while holding UNLV to three runs (zero earned) on a walk and five hits.

• The Los Alamitos, California native is 0-2 in 2023 but has posted a 3.22 ERA across a team-high 22.1 innings pitched so far this year (four starts), walking just six against 25 total strikeouts.

• Three of his four outings in 2023 have spanned exactly six innings, with the lone exception being a 4.1-inning effort on March 4 at Oregon.

• He appeared in 15 of San Diego's games last season (11 starts), going 2-4 with a 4.01 ERA, 50 strikeouts, and 25 walks in 67.1 total innings pitched, which was the second-most on the USD roster.

• Rennie started each of the Toreros' first eight Friday night games in 2022 and threw five or more innings on seven occasions.

• He joined USD in 2020 from Long Beach City College, where he earned 2018 First Team All-South Coast Conference honors and was named both the 2019 LBCC Pitcher of the Year and the 2019 South Coast Conference Pitcher/Athlete of the Year.

Sunday: Redshirt sophomore righty Ryan Kysar is set to make his second appearance of 2023 on Sunday afternoon.

• Kysar breezed through two scoreless innings last Sunday at No. 10 TCU in his first outing of the year, allowing two hits while striking out one and walking one.

• The Valencia, California native earned All-WCC Freshman Team Honors in 2022 after posting a 4-1 record and a 5.24 ERA across 56.2 innings, which marked the third-most innings pitched on the San Diego roster.

• He struck out 52 batters against 25 walks that year, and saw action both in the WCC Tournament against Portland (4.2 IP, 4 ER), and in the NCAA Corvallis Regional opposite No. 4 Oregon State (2 IP, 4 ER).

• Kysar joined the Toreros from the University of Arizona, where he redshirted in 2021.

FINALLY HOME
• After a seven-game season-opening homestand that saw it go 5-1-1 against Nebraska, Hawaii, and UNLV, San Diego completed its longest road trip of the 2023 season last weekend, one that spanned 11 days, eight games, three cities, and two states.

• The Toreros began the trip with four games at Oregon (March 2-5) before continuing north for a midweek matchup at No. 25 Oregon State (March 7).

• They then flew to Fort Worth, Texas for three games at No. 10 TCU, where they earned a dominant Friday night win over the Horned Frogs.

• This Friday night's matchup against Pacific marks the first time San Diego has played at Fowler Park since February 27 (18 days).

TOREROS STUN NO. 10 TCU AT LUPTON STADIUM
• San Diego baseball on March 10 rupted for a stunning road win over one of the country's top teams, dismantling No. 10 TCU by a 14-2 margin at Lupton Stadium to begin its weekend series with the Horned Frogs in dominant fashion.

• Led by a season-high five RBIs from graduate catcher Andrew Semo (The Bishop's School) and two RBIs from three different players, the Toreros scored multiple runs in each of the game's first five innings to secure the win, plating three in the first, two in both the second and third, three in the fourth, and five in the fifth.

• Redshirt junior right-hander James Sashin turned in his best start yet on the mound, holding TCU to just one run on six hits over a career-high six innings while striking out six and walking none for the first time in 2023.

• No. 10 TCU is the highest-ranked opponent San Diego has defeated since February 16, 2017, when the Toreros took down No. 6 Vanderbilt at Fowler Park by a score of 3-2 in what marked their first game of that season.

• Prior to March 10, USD had last beat a ranked team on May 21, 2022, when it bested No. 11 Gonzaga 7-4 at Fowler Park in its second-to-last regular-season game that year.

SCHEDULE UPDATE
• San Diego was slated to finish its lengthy road stint on Tuesday at UCLA, but the evening matchup at Jackie Robinson Stadium was postponed due to inclement weather in the Los Angeles area. No details on a new date have been announced.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Sophomore Shortstop Justin DeCriscio:
• Leads USD with a .340 (18-for-53) batting average through all 15 of the Toreros' games thus far in 2023; has a hit in all but three of them.

• Has recorded hit streaks of six (February 19 - March 2) and three games (March 4 - March 10) this season.

• Career-high three hits twice this year (February 24 vs. Hawaii and March 10 at No. 10 TCU); has four multi-hit games so far in 2023.

• Notched his third multi-hit game of the year on March 7 with a 2-for-3 evening at No. 25 Oregon State that saw him come around to score a run.

• Was 3-for-4 with two runs scored, two RBIs, and a triple in USD's 14-2 win at No. 10 TCU on March 10.

• Ripped a two-strike, two out, two-RBI single in the top of the ninth inning on March 12 at No. 10 TCU, cutting USD's deficit to just one run.

• Batted .400 (4-for-10) against the Horned Frogs last weekend at Lupton Stadium with two runs scored, a triple, and four RBIs.

• Won a Rawlings Gold Glove Award as a senior at Orange Lutheran High School (California) in 2021.

Graduate Infielder James Arakawa:
• Batted a team-high .500 (5-for-10) at No. 10 TCU last weekend with two runs scored, three doubles, two RBIs, eight total bases, and a walk; recorded his third and fourth multi-hit games of 2023 with two hits on March 10 and three on March 12.

• Hit safely in each of the Toreros' first eight games in 2023.

• Is batting .320 (16-for-60) so far this season, which ranks second to only DeCriscio (.340).

• Has compiled nine runs scored, three doubles, a triple, seven RBIs, two walks, and six hit by pitches in 2023.

• Transferred to USD last fall from West Coast Conference foe Pacific, at which he spent four seasons (2019-2022) and earned All-WCC Honorable Mention recognition in 2021.

Junior Utility Player Angelo Peraza:
• Is batting .320 (16-for-50) with 15 runs scored, three doubles, two home runs, 10 RBIs, a team-high 12 walks, and four hit by pitches in 2023.

• Batting average and hit by pitches rank second on USD roster.

• Has three stolen bases in three attempts so far this season.

• Has notched a hit in all but four of the Toreros' 16 games so far this year, has put together two three-game hit streaks.

• Delivered a walk-off RBI single on February 19 versus Nebraska.

• Had a season-high three hits and four runs scored on February 24 versus Hawaii at Fowler Park.

• Went 1-for-2 on March 7 at No. 25 Oregon State with two RBIs — both were sacrifice flies that drove in junior center fielder Dustin Allen from third.

• Put together a 2-for-4 performance in each of the Toreros' first two games at No. 10 TCU (March 11 and 12), the first of which saw him score three times and drive in two with a pair of RBI doubles.

Graduate Catcher Andrew Semo:
• Ignited an explosive San Diego offensive performance on March 10 at No. 10 TCU with a bases-clearing RBI double in the top of the first inning.

• Final stats against the Horned Frogs: .286 (2-for-7), 1 R, 1 2B, 5 RBI, 1 HBP

Junior Third Baseman/Outfielder Jack Costello:
• Leads the San Diego offense with six home runs and 19 RBIs so far in 2023.

• His 11 walks rank second among his teammates and his .263 (15-for-57) batting average is fifth.

• Hit five home runs across three games at Fowler Park from February 20th - February 26, including two homers in back-to-back contests against both Nebraska (February 20) and Hawaii (February 24) and one more on February 26 opposite UNLV.

Costello's homers so far this season have included:        

• A go-ahead grand slam (February 20 vs. Nebraska)
• A game-tying three-run shot (February 20 vs. Nebraska)
• A go-ahead two-run shot (February 26 vs. UNLV)
• A go-ahead solo shot (March 2 at Oregon)

• Also notched a walk-off single against UNLV on February 26.

• Was named both the NCAA National and the West Coast Conference Player of the Week on February 27, earned his second consecutive All-WCC Preseason Team selection last month.

• Earned WCC All-Tournament Team honors and was an WCC All-Academic Honorable Mention in 2022 after powering San Diego to the WCC Tournament Championship with a go-ahead two-RBI single and a go-ahead solo home run in San Diego's 15-12 extra-innings win over Gonzaga at Banner Island Ballpark.

• Was named a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American, an All-WCC Freshman Team selection, and an All-WCC Honorable Mention after his college debut in 2021.

Junior Infielder Kevin Sim
• Had hits in all three games at No. 10 TCU after going hitless in four straight games at Oregon and No. 25 Oregon State (March 3-7) scoring five runs while driving in three with a pair of doubles and an opposite-field home run.

• Homered in three consecutive games at Fowler Park to begin the 2023 season (February 17-19 versus Nebraska).

• Three doubles are tied for USD lead, 14 RBIs rank second, nine walks are third on San Diego roster

• Two-time WCC Player of the Week (February 20, 2023 and March 14, 2022)

• One of two Toreros named to 2023 All-WCC Preseason Team (Jack Costello)

• Selected to 2022 All-WCC First Team and was also named WCC Player of the Week on March 14, 2022.

• Attended Torrey Pines High School in San Diego, California

• Father, Chong Soo Shim played 15 years in the KBO League (OB Bears, Hyundai Unicorns and Samsung Lions)

Freshman Infielder/Designated Hitter Jack Gurevitch:
• Celebrated his 19th birthday on March 9.

• Hit the first college pitch he saw for a pinch-hit, eighth-inning, two-RBI double on Opening Night versus Nebraska (February 17).

• Put together a five-game hit streak from February 27 to March 7 that included contests against UC Irvine, Oregon, and No. 25 Oregon State.

• Recorded his first multi-hit game and his second double of the season on March 7 against the Beavers at Goss Stadium with a 2-for-4 performance.

• Entered as a pinch-hitter on March 10 at No. 10 TCU and worked a full count before drawing a walk to load the bases, which set the stage for Justin DeCriscio's two-RBI single.

• Attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California, where he batted .357 as a senior with 41 hits and led the Knights to a 25-9-1 record and a CIF Championship game appearance in his senior year.

Sophomore Outfielder/Left-Handed Pitcher Austin Smith:
• After beginning his USD career 4-for-4 on Opening Night at Fowler Park (February 17), Smith is batting .245 (13-for-53) through all 15 of the Toreros' games so far in 2023 with eight runs scored, three doubles, nine RBIs, eight walks, and two by pitches.

• Has posted a 1.93 ERA on the mound through 4.2 total innings pitched (three appearances, one start), allowing just one run on five hits in that span while striking out six, walking none, and earning a save.

• Smith transferred to the Toreros after spending his freshman season at nearby UC San Diego, where he batted .261 (46-for-176) with four home runs and ranked third on the team with a 3.18 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 17 innings pitched. He attended local Granite Hills High School, located just under 30 minutes away from the University of San Diego.

Redshirt Junior Right-Handed Pitcher Ryan Robinson
• Is 1-1 with a 3.27 ERA, 17 strikeouts, and three walks through 11 total innings pitched in 2023 out of the Torero bullpen.

• Began this season with 6.2 consecutive scoreless frames against Nebraska and UNLV.

• Entered with runners at the corners at No. 10 TCU on March 11 and stranded them both with a pair of strikeouts and a 5-2 fielder's choice to preserve a one-run USD deficit.

• Has earned an All-WCC Honorable Mention selection in back-to-back seasons (2021 and 2022), was 3-0 with a  2.70 ERA, 45 strikeouts, and 36.2 IP (26 app.) as a redshirt sophomore in 2021.

• Transferred to USD from Ohlone College (California) in 2020.

• Holds the single-season strikeout record at Livermore High School, previously set by Randy Johnson.

• Had Tommy John surgery, missing his junior high school season (2017).

• Received a kidney transplant when he was 10 years old.

BUILDING BLOCKS
• San Diego has held a lead in 12 of its first 15 games so far this season (March 4 and 5 at Oregon and March 11 at No. 10 TCU).

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, their 37-20 record in 2022, and their 6-8-1 totals so far in 2023, the Toreros are a conference-best 121-66-1 (.647) in that 188-game span.