San Diego (9-13-1, 3-3 WCC)  •  Pepperdine (6-16, 1-5 WCC)

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

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

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SAN DIEGO — After a five-game road stretch that saw it travel to California Baptist, Santa Clara, and CSUN, San Diego baseball will return home this weekend to resume West Coast Conference play against Pepperdine at Fowler Park.

The three-game set between the Toreros and Waves 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, with Jack Cronin on the call for the series opener (Friday) and finale (Sunday) and Braden Surprenant broadcasting the middle game (Saturday). Live statistics will be available on USDToreros.com.

LAST TIME OUT: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
• USD struck first for an early lead and plated a pair of runs in the top of the ninth inning on Tuesday afternoon but could not secure a win at Cal State Northridge, suffering a 12-10 defeat to the Matadors at Matador Field.

• All but two of the players in the Toreros' starting lineup recorded at least one hit, and three had more than one.

• San Diego pitchers allowed just one total walk on Tuesday, while USD hitters drew eight.

• CSUN's lone batter that drew a walk came around to score, while just three of San Diego's eight batters that reached via a walk resulted in a run.

• Every pitcher USD used on Tuesday was either in his first or second college season.

• Including Tuesday, USD has been ahead at some point in 19 of its 23 games so far this season and has held a lead in nine of its 13 losses.

• San Diego enters this weekend 3-3 in WCC play after winning two of three versus Pacific and losing two of three at Santa Clara.

ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS PEPPERDINE
• The Toreros are 78-131 all-time against the Waves but are 30-20 (.600) in their last 50 matchups against them, a span that dates back to April 22, 2006.

• USD and Pepperdine most recently met last season from March 18-20, 2022 at Eddy D. Field Stadium in Malibu. After dropping the series opener by a 3-0 margin, San Diego rallied for 8-1 and 6-3 wins in games two and three to take the series.

• The last time the Toreros hosted Pepperdine (April 30-May 2, 2021), they swept the Waves in three games, beating them by scores of 8-3, 7-6, and 10-9.

• 2021's series finale — which marks the most recent matchup at Fowler Park between the two teams — saw San Diego complete a five-run comeback and earn a walk-off win on an RBI hit by pitch from eventual 2021 WCC Player of the Year Thomas Luevano.

FOR STARTERS (PROBABLE)
Friday: Redshirt junior righty James Sashin is set to make his seventh start of the season and the eighth of his career when he takes the mound against the Waves 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 3.60 ERA through 30.0 total frames so far in 2023, striking out 31 batters while working around 14 walks. His innings pitched total is just 2.2 frames shy of Garrett Rennie's team-high mark of 32.2.

• He most recently appeared on March 24 at Santa Clara, surrendering six runs on 11 hits in 4.2 innings of work while walking two and striking out four.

• Sashin shined last time he pitched at Fowler Park on March 17, holding Pacific to just one run on four hits across six innings, walking none while striking out eight. Both his innings pitched and his strikeout total that evening were tied for his career high.

Saturday: Graduate right-hander Garrett Rennie will begin Saturday's game on the mound for the Toreros in what marks his seventh start of 2023 and the 18th of his career.

• Rennie's most recent appearance saw him turn in his most dominant start of 2023 thus far, allowing just one run on three hits across a season-high seven innings on March 25 at Santa Clara, walking two while striking out four enroute to his first win of the year.

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

• Four of his six outings in 2023 have spanned six innings or more and have seen him allow two runs or less.

• 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 take the mound for the Toreros on Sunday, marking the fourth consecutive weekend he has started San Diego's series finale.

• He surrendered four runs on five hits across two innings of work last time out on March 26 at Santa Clara, walking three while striking out two.

• Through 7.1 total innings this year he is 0-0 with a 7.36 ERA, and has struck out eight batters against four walks.

• 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.

HOME SWEET HOME
• USD is 7-2-1 while playing at Fowler Park in 2023.

FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS AT THE PLATE
• After every player in the San Diego lineup (plus a pinch-hitter) recorded a hit last Sunday at Santa Clara, every USD starter but two notched a hit on Monday at CSUN.

BIG BATS
• Through 23 total games and two conference series, San Diego's offense has been among the most productive in the WCC, ranking…

• First in home runs (24)
• First in walks (110)
• First in hit by pitches (42)
• Second in runs scored (162)
• Second in RBIs (149)
• Second in on-base percentage (.381)
• Second in stolen bases (21 in 35 attempts)
• Third in hits (198)
• Third in total bases (313)

• On March 25 at Santa Clara, the Toreros hammered back-to-back-to-back home runs (Smith, Peraza, and Sim), marking the first time USD had left the yard in consecutive at-bats in 2023.

DECRISCIO STAYS HOT
• Sophomore shortstop Justin DeCriscio's 1-for-3 performance on Monday at CSUN extended his hit streak to nine games and bolstered his team-leading .353 (30-for-85) batting average.

• He has now hit safely in 20 of San Diego's 23 games so far this season, including eight multi-hit performances.

• DeCriscio has a hit in every WCC game USD has played this season, including 2-for-4 performances in all three matchups last weekend at Santa Clara.

• As a whole, he is batting .417 (10-for-24) with 10 runs scored, one double, one home run, and one RBI in six conference contests so far.

ALLEN HEATING UP
• After notching two hits on March 20 at California Baptist, one in each game at Santa Clara (including his first home run of 2023), and a team/season-high three on Tuesday at CSUN, junior centerfielder Dustin Allen enters this weekend's action on a season-high five-game hit streak.

• Since March 17 he is batting .345 (10-for-29) with six runs scored, three doubles, a home run, 11 RBIs, and five walks, raising his batting average from .152 (7-for-46) to its current mark of .227 (17-for-75).

SMITH DOES IT ALL
• Through 23 games in 2023, sophomore outfielder/designated hitter/left-handed pitcher Austin Smith is batting .289 (24-for-83) with 19 runs scored, five doubles, two home runs, and 20 RBIs while walking 13 times and being hit by six pitches.

• He enters Friday night's action on an eight-game hit streak and a 15-game reached base streak.

• The El Cajon, California native (Granite Hills High School) has also excelled on the mound for the Toreros, posting a 2.08 ERA with nine strikeouts, no walks, and a save across 8.2 innings pitched (five appearances).

• 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.

A FLAIR FOR THE DRAMATIC
• Junior utility player Angelo Peraza continued his strong 2023 campaign last week at Santa Clara and CSUN, going 6-for-18 (.333) to bolster his .318 (27-for-85) overall batting average this season, which ranks third on the USD roster.

• As a whole he has recorded 25 runs scored, a team-high eight doubles, four home runs, 18 RBIs, 15 walks, seven hit by pitches, and four stolen bases in five attempts so far this season. His .450 on-base percentage is the highest of any USD player.

• Peraza's eight total multi-hit games in 2023 are tied with DeCriscio for the USD lead, his six multi-RBI performances are second to only Kevin Sim, and he enters Friday night's action on a three-game hit streak.

• He ripped a go-ahead RBI double in San Diego's series finale at Santa Clara on Sunday (March 26), giving USD a 7-6 lead in the top of the 11th inning when he plated Justin DeCriscio from second base.

• Peraza's clutch double last weekend was his second go-ahead hit in the ninth inning or later so far this season after he recorded a walk-off RBI single on February 19 against Nebraska at Fowler Park.

• The Chula Vista, California native — who also notched a walk-off single on April 15, 2021 against Loyola Marymount — has  scored the winning run on a walk-off hit on three occasions: March 4, 2022 against Dallas Baptist, April 15, 2022 against Loyola Marymount, and February 26, 2023 against UNLV.

• So far this season Peraza has started one game at catcher (March 17 versus Pacific), one game in center field (March 5 at Oregon) and 21 in right field.

SIM SHINES AT SANTA CLARA AND CSUN
• A two-home run performance last Saturday at Santa Clara kick-started a three-game hit streak for junior infielder Kevin Sim last week, giving him a team-high eight longballs through 23 games so far in 2023.

• His 26 RBIs, 28 runs scored, and 52 total bases are the most on the USD roster, and his .584 slugging percentage leads the team.

• Sim, who is a San Diego California native and attended nearby Torrey Pines High School, homered in three consecutive games at Fowler Park to begin the 2023 season (February 17-19 versus Nebraska).

• He has gone yard in consecutive games twice this season and has done so in back-to-back at-bats once.

• Sim is a two-time WCC Player of the Week (February 20, 2023 and March 14, 2022) and was one of two Toreros named to 2023 All-WCC Preseason Team (Jack Costello) last month.

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

A STEADY PRESENCE UP THE MIDDLE
• Graduate infielder James Arakawa enters Friday night's action batting .313 (25-for-85), which ranks third among qualified USD batters. He has compiled 11 runs scored, five doubles, one triple, 10 RBIs, 10 walks, and a tied-for-team-high seven hit by pitches in 2023.

• He went 1-for-3 with two runs scored and two walks on Tuesday afternoon at CSUN, giving him hits in back-to-back games while putting him on base for the fifth consecutive contest.

• Arakawa 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.

• He drove in four runs and scored two more against his former team at Fowler Park from March 17-19 while also drawing two walks, stealing two bases, and notching an outfield assist in left.

• The Walnut, California native batted a team-high .500 (5-for-10) at No. 10 TCU from March 10-12 with two runs scored, three doubles, two RBIs, eight total bases, and a walk.

• Arakawa attended Walnut High School, where he is a member of the Walnut High School Hall of Fame

HE GETS ON BASE 
• With a 1-for-5 afternoon on Tuesday at CSUN, freshman infielder/designated hitter Jack Gurevitch extended his hit streak to a season-long five games.

• Gurevitch's 16 total walks this season lead the team and he has drawn a walk in nine of his last 11 games dating back to March 10 at No. 10 TCU, a span that's included a pair of two-walk performances and one four-walk performance (March 18 versus Pacific).

• His .442 on-base percentage ranks second on the USD roster.

• He hammered his first college home run last Friday at Santa Clara, hammering a solo shot off of Stephen Schott Stadium's batter's eye.

• Gurevitch Attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California, where he batted .357 as a senior with 41 hits and earned California All-State First Team, Mission League MVP, and All-CIF honors in addition to a First Team All-Mission League selection.

NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED POWER
• Junior third baseman/outfielder Jack Costello ranks second on the USD roster with six home runs and 20 RBIs in 2023.

• He 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)

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

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

• He 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.

• The Simi Valley, California native 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.

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 9-13-1 totals so far in 2023, the Toreros are a conference-best 124-71-1 (.635) in that 196-game span.

• Next best within that timeframe are Gonzaga (116-85, .577), BYU (106-85, .554) and Portland (92-81, .531).