smith 41 website
4
Pepperdine PEPP 7-17, 2-6 WCC
8
Winner San Diego USD 10-14-1, 4-4 WCC
Pepperdine PEPP
7-17, 2-6 WCC
4
Final
8
San Diego USD
10-14-1, 4-4 WCC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Pepperdine PEPP 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 7 2
San Diego USD 1 1 0 2 0 0 4 0 X 8 9 3

W: Smith, Austin (1-0) L: LLEWELLYN, BRANDON (0-3)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Austin Smith Lifts San Diego to Comeback Win Over Pepperdine

Sophomore hammers go-ahead grand slam before closing out 8-4 win with 3.2 scoreless innings on the mound

SAN DIEGO — A sensational two-way performance from sophomore lefty Austin Smith on Saturday evening lifted San Diego baseball (10-14-1, 4-4 WCC) to an 8-4 comeback win over Pepperdine at Fowler Park, leveling the Toreros' series with the Waves (7-17, 2-6 WCC), at one game apiece.

Smith, a El Cajon, California native who attended Granite Hills High School and transferred to USD from UC San Diego this season, hammered a go-ahead grand slam in the bottom of the seventh to give his team a late lead before completing 3.2 scoreless innings on the mound (including five consecutive strikeouts to end the game).

The Toreros trailed by four runs early on but scored eight unanswered runs to secure the victory.

ARAKAWA, ARMAS, SMITH COME UP BIG AT THE PLATE
  • After Pepperdine struck first with four runs in the top of the game's opening frame, graduate infielder James Arakawa provided an instant answer with a leadoff home run, sending the Waves' second pitch of the game over the left field wall to make it 4-1.
  • An inning later, sophomore catcher Ariel Armas (St. Augustine High School) got the Toreros one run closer, plating junior utility player Jack Costello with an RBI groundout to cut the deficit to two at 4-2.
  • Another RBI groundout brought home Costello in the bottom of the fourth (this time from junior centerfielder Dustin Allen) to get the Toreros back within one before Armas came up clutch again, driving in freshman infielder/designated hitter Jack Gurevitch from third with a game-tying RBI single to complete the San Diego comeback and knot the score at 4-4.
  • Armas led off the bottom of the seventh with a double, then Arakawa was hit by a pitch before the pair advanced to second and third on a groundout by sophomore shortstop Justin DeCriscio.
  • Junior utility player Angelo Peraza (St. Augustine High School) followed with a walk to load the bases, but a pop out from junior utility player Kevin Sim marked the second out of the inning.
  • Smith was next and wasted little time in giving his team its first advantage of the evening, hammering the first pitch he saw for a towering grand slam over the right field wall, putting San Diego on top by an 8-4 margin that it would not relinquish.
RENNIE HANGS TOUGH, SMITH SHUTS IT DOWN ON THE MOUND
  • Graduate righty Garrett Rennie surrendered four Pepperdine runs in the top of the first on an RBI double, an RBI groundout, and a pair of RBI singles but settled in to allow nothing else across 5.1 innings of work.
    •  His final line: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 3 K)
  • After beginning Saturday night's game as the designated hitter, Smith took the mound out of the bullpen in the top of the sixth and stranded a pair of runners.
  • He proceeded to fire 3.2 scoreless and hitless frames, walking just a single batter as he closed out the game with five consecutive strikeouts to secure his first win as a Torero.
TORERO TIDBITS
  • Smith paced the San Diego offense with his go-ahead grand slam, totaling four RBIs and a run scored to go with his shut-down pitching performance (W, 3.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K).
  • Armas was next with a 2-for-3 evening that saw him double, notch two game-tying RBIs, draw a walk, and score a run.
  • After recording just one hit in his first 10 appearances this season, Armas has recorded a hit in three of his last four games.
  • Arakawa was 1-for-4 with a leadoff solo home run, marking the first time he has gone yard in a USD uniform.
  • Gurevitch went 2-for-4 with a run scored and his team-leading 17th walk of 2023, extending his hit streak to seven games.
  • Sim (Torrey Pines High School) was 1-for-2 with a walk, moving his hit streak to five games.
  • DeCriscio's third-inning single bolstered his team-high .344 (32-for-93) batting average and pushed his hit streak to a team-long 11 games.
  • He has now hit safely in 22 of San Diego's 25 games so far this season, including eight multi-hit performances.
  • Costello was 1-for-3 with a walk.
  • Arakawa and Costello both came around to score two runs on Saturday.
  • Through 25 games, Smith has compiled the following stats:
    • .278 (25-for-90) batting average at the plate with 20 runs scored, five doubles, three home runs, and 24 RBIs
    • 1-0 record on the mound with one save; 1.46 ERA across 12.1 innings pitched while racking up 15 strikeouts against just one walk
  • Saturday night marked the fourth time this season that San Diego has earned a comeback win at Fowler Park after trailing by three runs or more. USD's tie this season came after it erased a six-run deficit (February 20 versus Nebraska).
UP NEXT
The Toreros will look to secure a series win against Pepperdine in the three-game set's finale tomorrow afternoon. First pitch at Fowler Park is set for 1:00 p.m.
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