will website
5
San Francisco USF 14-20, 5-12 WCC
6
Winner San Diego USD 17-19-1, 10-7 WCC
San Francisco USF
14-20, 5-12 WCC
5
Final
6
San Diego USD
17-19-1, 10-7 WCC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
San Francisco USF 1 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 8 1
San Diego USD 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 6 10 1

W: Robinson, Ryan (5-1) L: LEPE, Oscar (3-2)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Worthington's Walk-Off Pushes Toreros Past Dons

Junior infielder delivers RBI single in the bottom of the ninth for 6-5 win over San Francisco

SAN DIEGO — A clutch RBI single from Will Worthington completed a stirring San Diego baseball comeback on Saturday night, earning the Toreros (17-19-1) a crucial 6-5 walk-off win over San Francisco (14-20, 5-12 WCC) at Fowler Park after they scored twice in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Facing a 5-4 deficit with one out in the ninth, the Toreros tied the score at five when pinch runner Ian Blazier raced home from second after Dustin Allen sent a 4-6 RBI fielder's choice up the middle.

Worthington followed with an RBI single through the right side that scored Kevin Sim, earning USD its fourth walk-off win of 2023.

The victory moved San Diego's 2023 WCC record to 10-7, good for a three-way tie in the conference standings with Portland and Gonzaga.

EARLY POWER, LATE DRAMA
  • After the Dons struck for a run in the top of the first on an RBI single, Justin DeCriscio provided an immediate answer, leading off the bottom of the inning with a solo home run to left field that tied the score at one.
  • Jack Gurevitch then yanked a solo shot of his own over Fowler Park's right-field fence, giving the Toreros back-to-back home runs and a 2-1 lead as he rounded the bases for his third longball in his last two games.
  • Worthington added on later in the frame with an RBI single through the left side, giving USD an early 3-1 advantage after just one inning of play.
  • A solo homer and an RBI double in the top of the third pushed San Francisco back in front by a 4-3 margin, then another solo shot from the Dons in the top of the sixth gave them their largest lead of the evening at 5-3.
  • Allen cut the deficit to 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI single, setting the stage for the Toreros' late-game heroics.
  • Gurevitch led off the bottom of the ninth with a single up the middle before Angelo Peraza advanced him to second with a textbook sacrifice bunt.
  • After Sim was intentionally walked, Blazier entered as a pinch runner for Gurevitch at second.
  • Allen worked a full count before grounding into a 4-3 fielder's choice that unsuccessfully attempted to force out Sim at second.
  • Third base coach Erich Pfohl sent Blazier all the way from second, waving the freshman around third without breaking stride to score the game's tying run after the Dons' throw home sailed wide.
  • An 0-2 count did little to face Worthington in the subsequent at-bat. The junior slapped the third pitch he saw the other way, past the dive of San Francisco's first baseman into right field for an RBI single that scored Sim from second and secured San Diego a 6-5 walk-off win.
BULLPEN STAYS STRONG
  • Conner Thurman, Ivran Romero, and Ryan Robinson closed out Saturday's game with 6.2 innings of one-run ball in relief of starter Garrett Rennie.
  • Thurman turned in the Toreros' longest outing of the evening with 3.2 frames, allowing a run on two hits while walking one and striking out two.
  • Romero worked around a hit and a walk with a strikeout across 1.2 innings of work, then Robinson closed the game out with 1.1 perfect innings that saw him strike out two.
TORERO TIDBITS
  • Worthington paced the San Diego offense with a 3-for-5 performance that saw him notch two RBIs.
  • Allen was 1-for-3 and matched Worthington by driving in two runs of his own.
  • DeCriscio and Gurevitch both homered and each had two hits on Saturday night.
  • Gurevitch now has three home runs in his last two games after homering twice on Friday night.
  • The duo's back-to-back homers in the first inning marked the second time the Toreros have left the yard in consecutive at-bats this season (March 25 at Santa Clara; Smith, Peraza, and Sim).
  • Peraza walked twice and led USD with two runs scored, followed by DeCriscio, Gurevitch, Blazier, and Sim, who all scored once.
  • James Arakawa was 1-for-1 with a single after entering as a defensive replacement at second base in the top of the eighth.
  • Robinson received the win on Saturday to move to a team-best 5-1 in 2023.
  • Worthington's ninth-inning RBI single marked the Toreros' fourth walk-off win of 2023 and their second in five days after Gurevitch ripped a walk-off RBI single of his own last Sunday (April 16).
  • San Diego has earned 13 walk-off wins at Fowler Park since 2021 (four in 2023, five in 2022, and four in 2021).
UP NEXT
The Toreros will look for their first sweep of 2023 tomorrow afternoon in their series finale with San Francisco. First pitch at Fowler Park is set for 1:00 p.m.
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