SAN DIEGO — A commanding, wire-to-wire effort on both sides of the ball from junior utility player Kevin Sim on Sunday earned San Diego baseball a 7-6 victory over Pepperdine at Fowler Park, securing the Toreros (11-14-1, 5-4 WCC) a series win as they took two games out of three from the Waves (7-18, 2-7 WCC).

Sim (Torrey Pines High School) gave USD an early 3-0 lead with a towering two-run homer in the bottom of the first before closing out the contest in the top of the ninth with a diving stop at first base, taking away a game-tying single from Pepperdine as he recorded Sunday's final out.

SIM SUNDAY

• Sophomore shortstop Justin DeCriscio got the scoring started in the bottom of the first with a sacrifice fly, plating graduate transfer utility player James Arakawa (Pacific) after he drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second and third on a failed pickoff attempt by the Waves.
• After junior utility player Angelo Peraza (St. Augustine High School) continued the inning with a single through the right side, Sim stepped up and delivered a colossal two-run homer, putting the fourth pitch he saw onto the Manchester practice field beneath Fowler Park's left-field wall to move the score to 3-0 in favor of the home team.
• Arakawa led off the bottom of the third with a double to left field, then DeCriscio came up clutch again, legging out a single before racing to second base and successfully drawing a Pepperdine throw, which skipped errantly into center field as Arakawa dashed home from third to extend USD's lead to 4-0.
• The Waves hit back with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth on a two-RBI double, but San Diego answered an inning later when sophomore catcher Ariel Armas (St. Augustine High School) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, moving the score to 5-2.
• San Diego picked up two key insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth when sophomore two-way player Austin Smith (UC San Diego, Granite Hills High School) shined with the bases loaded once again, this time ripping a two-RBI double down the first-base line to bring home Peraza and DeCriscio to make it 7-3 Toreros heading into Sunday's final frame.
• Pepperdine pushed across three runs in the top of the ninth on a bases-loaded walk, an RBI single, and a sacrifice fly but got no closer, earning USD a 7-6 win over the Waves as it took two of three in the weekend series with its second consecutive win.

KYSAR AND ROMERO SET THE TONE, SUSPENZI STEPS UP AND FINISHES IT

• Redshirt sophomore righty Ryan Kysar started Sunday's game on the mound for the Toreros and tied his season high with 3.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits while walking one and striking out four.
• Junior right-hander Ivran Romero (Poway High School) was first out of the bullpen in relief of Kysar and turned in his finest outing of the season thus far with 2.2 scoreless and hitless frames, walking just one while tying his season high with five strikeouts.
• Freshman righty Aídan Gonzalez, freshman left-hander Mikiah Negrete, and redshirt sophomore righty Drake Frize all threw 0.2 innings on Sunday, followed by freshman right-hander JD Goodcase, who went 0.1.
• Redshirt freshman righty Nick Suspenzi entered with one out and the bases loaded in the top of the ninth and secured the game's final two outs on a fly out to right field and a groundout to Sim at first base, who went full extension as he dove to his right to take away a game-tying single before stepping on first to end the contest.

TORERO TIDBITS

• DeCriscio (2-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI) and Peraza (2-for-5, 2 R) led the USD offense on Sunday with two hits apiece.
• DeCriscio's third and fourth-inning singles bolstered his team-high .354 (34-for-96) batting average and pushed his hit streak to a team-long 12 games.
• He has now hit safely in 23 of San Diego's 26 games so far this season, including nine multi-hit performances.
• Smith and Sim both recorded one hit, one run scored, and two RBIs on Sunday, making them the only two Toreros to drive in more than one run.
• Smith drew a game-high three walks, marking the second time he has drawn more multiple free passes this season (March 25 at Santa Clara).
• He has drawn eight walks in his last six games dating back to March 25, and has been without a walk just once in that span.
• His 17 walks so far this season are tied with freshman Jack Gurevitch for the team lead.
• His high walk numbers at the plate come in contrast to his pinpoint control on the mound, which has enabled him to walk just one batter through 12.1 total innings pitched in 2023 against 15 strikeouts.
• His two-RBI double in the bottom of the eighth on Sunday marked the second game in a row in which he has come up big with the bases loaded after he delivered a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning of Saturday's contest.
• Junior centerfielder Dustin Allen did not record a hit on Sunday but walked twice.
• Armas' fifth-inning RBI hit by pitch marked the second consecutive game in which he's driven in a run and his third run batted in of the series.
• Romero earned his first win of 2023 on Sunday to move to 1-3 on the year and Suspenzi earned the first save of his college career.

UP NEXT
The Toreros are back in action on Tuesday, when they travel to La Jolla for a crosstown non-conference matchup against UC San Diego. First pitch at Triton Ballpark is set for 6 p.m.