San Diego (14-16-1, 7-5 WCC)  •  Portland (17-15, 7-5 WCC)

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

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

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SAN DIEGO — After winning three of five games on the road last week across two states and a trio of ballparks, San Diego baseball (14-16-1, 7-5 WCC) is set to return home to Fowler Park this weekend to resume West Coast Conference play against Portland (17-15, 7-5 WCC).

The three-game set between the Toreros and Pilots is set to get underway at 6 p.m. on Friday, followed by a 5 p.m. start on Saturday and a 1 p.m. series finale on Sunday. USD and Portland enter the weekend tied for third place in the WCC with identical 7-5 conference records.

All three contests will be streamed live on the WCC Network, with David Gentile on the call for Friday night's matchup and Braden Surprenant in the booth for Saturday and Sunday. Live statistics will be available on USDToreros.com.

LAST TIME OUT
• USD dropped a taut 3-2 decision at UC Irvine last time out on Tuesday, concluding a five-game road stretch that saw it travel to UC San Diego and Gonzaga before its midweek trip to take on the Anteaters.

• San Diego beat UCSD at Triton Ballpark by a 5-2 margin last Tuesday (April 4) before taking two of three from the Bulldogs in Spokane by bookending a 3-2 loss on Friday (April 7) with an 8-1 win on Thursday (April 6) and a 9-3 win on Saturday (April 8).

ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS PORTLAND
• The Toreros are 63-29-2 all-time against the Pilots.

• USD dropped two of three to Portland at Joe Etzel Field last year in the two teams' regular-season series (April 7 and 8, 2022) but bounced back with a massive 22-8 win over the Pilots on May 26 at Banner Island Ballpark in the Toreros' second WCC Tournament game.

• San Diego last hosted the Pilots at Fowler Park in May of 2021, when it took two of three from Portland with 7-1 and 4-3 wins before dropping a 4-3 series finale.

SAN DIEGO VS. PORTLAND LAST SEASON
• April 8, 2022 (Joe Etzel Field): Portland 6, USD 2
• April 9, 2022 (Joe Etzel Field): USD 8, Portland 6
• April 9, 2022 (Joe Etzel Field): Portland 5, USD 4 (11)*
• May 26, 2022 (Banner Island Ballpark): USD 22, Portland 8^

*Second game of doubleheader due to rain       ^Second game of 2022 WCC Tournament

FOR STARTERS (PROBABLE)
Friday: Sophomore left-handed two-way player Austin Smith will make his third start and eighth overall pitching appearance for San Diego when he takes the mound in the first game of USD's series against the Pilots.

• Smith, an El Cajon, California native (Granite Hills High School) has emerged as one of the Toreros' most dominant pitchers in 2023, posting a minuscule 1.04 ERA with 24 strikeouts, four walks, and a save to go with his 2-0 record through 17.1 total innings.

• He dominated on national television (ESPNU) last time out at Gonzaga, dazzling across a career-high five scoreless innings as he worked around four walks and two hits with a career-high nine strikeouts to lead San Diego to an 8-1 win.

• The lefty has also shined at the plate this season, batting .252 (28-for-111) with six doubles, three home runs, 28 RBIs, a team-high 20 walks, six hit by pitches, and two stolen bases.

• He transferred to USD 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.

Saturday: Redshirt junior righty James Sashin is set to make his ninth start of the season and the 10th of his career when he takes the mound against the Pilots on Saturday night.

• 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 4.02 ERA through 40.1 total frames so far in 2023, striking out 37 batters while working around 18 walks. His innings pitched total is just 1.2 frames shy of Garrett Rennie's team-high mark of 42.

• He most recently appeared on April 7 at Gonzaga, surrendering two runs on six hits in 4.2 innings of work while walking two and striking out one.

Sunday: Graduate right-hander Garrett Rennie will begin Sunday's game on the mound for the Toreros in what marks his ninth start of 2023 and the 20th of his career.

• Through a team-high 42 innings pitched so far this season he has posted 1-2 record and a 4.07 ERA while striking out 34 and walking 10.

• Rennie's most recent appearance on April 8 at Gonzaga saw him allow two runs on five hits across four innings, walking none alongside a single strikeout.
 
• Four of his eight 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.

• Rennie 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.

TORERO PITCHERS STEP UP
• San Diego's pitching staff turned in its most dominant stretch of the 2023 season so far last week, posting a 2.30 combined ERA across a total of 43.0 innings pitched (five games) with 36 total strikeouts against 18 walks.

• Since April 2 the Toreros have held their opponents to three runs per game or less, including just two runs to UC San Diego on April 4 and one run to Gonzaga on April 6.

• USD's recent success on the mound has come by committee — 17 different pitchers have logged an appearance in that five-game span and just one (Austin Smith) has recorded five or more innings pitched.

BIG BATS
• Through 31 total games and four conference series, San Diego's offense has been among the most productive in the WCC, ranking…

• First in home runs (34)
• First in on-base percentage (.382)
• First in hit by pitches (56)
• Tied for first in walks (141)
• Second in runs scored (206)
• Second in RBIs (189)
• Second in stolen bases (36 in 52 attempts)
• Second in total bases (433)
• Third in hits (271)
• Third in slugging percentage (.427)

• 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.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Angelo Peraza | JR | UTIL | Chula Vista, CA | St. Augustine HS
• Batted .364 (8-for-22) on last week's five-game road stretch with six runs scored, a double, a triple, two home runs, five RBIs, two walks, and two stolen bases

• Enters Friday night's action after homering in back-to-back games at Gonzaga (April 8) and UC Irvine (April 11)

• Leads USD in hits (38), and doubles (9), ranks second on roster in batting average (.319) and runs scored (34), is third in home runs (6) and walks (18)

• Has three go-ahead hits in the ninth inning or later so far this season

• His 12 multi-hit games in 2023 are the most of any San Diego player

Kevin Sim | JR | UTIL | San Diego, CA | Torrey Pines High School
• Enters Friday night's action on a team-long 11-game hit streak that dates back to April 25 at Santa Clara

• Leads USD with 11 home runs, 34 RBIs, 36 runs scored so far in 2023, all of which rank second in the WCC

• Has played 16 games at first base, five games at third base, and 10 games in left field for USD this season

• Was named WCC Player of the Week on February 20 and was 2023 All-WCC Preseason Team Selection

Jack Costello | JR | UTIL | Simi Valley, CA | Chaminade College Prep
• 7-for-19 (.368), two runs scored, one double, one triple, one home run, three RBIs across five road games last week

• Hit five home runs across three games at Fowler Park from February 20th - February 26, has total of seven in 2023

• Named NCAA National Player of the Week and WCC Player of the Week on February 27 and to the 2023 All-WCC Preseason Team

Dustin Allen | JR | CF | Arcadia, CA | Arcadia High School
• 6-for-17 (.353), two runs scored, one double, one home run, one RBI, one stolen base across five road games last week

• Was the only USD player to start all 57 games at the same position (center field), bat in same spot (ninth) in 2022

James Arakawa | GRAD | INF | Walnut, CA | Pacific | Walnut High School
• .306 (34-for-111) batting average in 2023 ranks third on USD roster

• Has started each of Toreros' last five games at shortstop

• Earned an All-WCC Honorable Mention as a sophomore at Pacific in 2021

Austin Smith | SO | LHP/OF | El Cajon, CA | UC San Diego | Granite Hills High School
• Two hits, two RBIs, three walks in five games at plate last week

• 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 9 K (career-highs in both innings pitched and strikeouts) in lone appearance on mound (April 6 at Gonzaga)

• Put together USD's longest on-base streak of season earlier this year (22 games)

Justin DeCriscio | SO | INF | Orange, CA | Orange Lutheran High School
• Leads USD with a .327 (36-for-110) batting average in 2023

• Owns San Diego's longest hit streak (12 games) and has the Toreros' second-most multi-hit games this year (10)

• Has gone hitless just six times this year in 30 appearances

NEVER OUT OF THE FIGHT
• April 1 marked the fourth time this season that San Diego earned a comeback win after trailing by three runs or more.

USD's comeback wins in 2023 have included...

• February 19 vs. Nebraska - Trailed 8-2, won 10-9 on Angelo Peraza's walk-off single
• February 26 vs. UNLV - Trailed 3-0, won 6-5 on Jack Costello's walk-off single
• March 18 vs. Pacific -  Trailed 6-1, won 16-6 after 10-run eighth inning
• April 1 vs. Pepperdine - Trailed 4-0, won 8-4 after Austin Smith's go-ahead grand slam

- February 20 vs. Nebraska - Trailed 16-10 entering predetermined final inning (travel restrictions), scored six runs to earn 16-16 tie after Jack Costello sent a game-tying three-run homer to left field.

• USD has been ahead at some point in 25 of its 31 games so far this season and has held a lead in 10 of its 16 losses.

HOME SWEET HOME
• USD is 9-3-1 while playing at Fowler Park in 2023 and is 303-203-2 (.598) at the venue since it opened in 2013.

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 14-16-1 totals so far in 2023, the Toreros are a conference-best 129-74-1 (.635) in that 204-game span.

• Next best within that timeframe are Gonzaga (120-89, .574), BYU (111-92, .546) and Portland (93-88, .513).