San Diego (18-20-1, 11-7 WCC)  •  Loyola Marymount (21-14, 14-4 WCC)

Page Stadium (1,000) • Los Angeles, California

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

Social  •  Twitter.com/USDBaseball  •  Instagram.com/USDBaseball

LOS ANGELES — After sweeping San Francisco last week to vault into a tie for second place in the West Coast Conference standings, San Diego baseball is set to continue WCC play this weekend at Loyola Marymount, taking on the first-place Lions at Page Stadium in a critical three-game set.

The series will get underway on Friday at 6 p.m., followed by another 6 p.m. start on Saturday and a 1 p.m. first pitch in the series finale on Sunday.

All three games in Los Angeles will be streamed live on the WCC Network, with live statistics available on LMULions.com.

At 11-7 in league play, USD enters Friday night's action tied for second in the WCC with Portland. Both the Toreros and Pilots will begin the weekend just three games back of Loyola Marymount, who is currently 14-4 in WCC games.

LAST TIME OUT: MIDWEEK MATCHUP GOES TO MATADORS
• Four runs from Cal State Northridge in the top of the eighth inning on Tuesday night dealt San Diego a 7-4 defeat at Fowler Park as it completed its second-to-last midweek non-conference matchup of 2023.

OVER THE WEEKEND: USD DOMINATES DONS
• The Toreros earned three convincing wins over San Francisco at Fowler Park last weekend (April 21-23), beating USF by a massive 17-3 margin on Friday before taking home a wild, walk-off 6-5 win on Saturday and a 9-7 victory on Sunday.

• USD's commanding performance marked its first sweep since May 6-8, 2022, when San Diego took all three games from Pacific at Klein Family Field.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
• The Toreros are 93-108-1 against the Lions all-time, with the two-programs' most recent meeting coming last season, from April 14-16 at Fowler Park.

• USD took two of three from LMU that weekend in San Diego, beating Loyola Marymount with a pair of walk-off wins on Friday and Saturday before dropping an 8-1 decision on Sunday.

• Game one of last season's series lasted 14 innings after USD erased an early 6-0 deficit, taking the matchup (which started at 6 p.m.) all the way to Fowler Park's 10:30 p.m. noise and light curfew before play was suspended with the score tied at 8-8.

• Play resumed at 3 p.m. the next day in the top of the 14th, and after holding the Lions scoreless one last time USD earned a walk-off win in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single from Dustin Allen.

• The second game of the series saw San Diego earn a win in walk-off fashion once again, this time via an RBI single from Angelo Peraza in the bottom of the ninth — which marked the first and only run of the contest in a 1-0 decision after a game-long pitcher's duel.

FOWLER MAGIC
• The Toreros' walk-off win over San Francisco on April 22 was their fourth walk-off of 2023 and their 13th at Fowler Park since 2021 (USD achieved five walk-off victories in 2022 and four in 2021).

• USD is 13-6-1 (.675) at Fowler Park in 2023 and is 307-206-2 (.598) at the venue since it opened in 2013.

NOTABLE SAN DIEGO COMEBACKS THIS SEASON
• February 19 vs. Nebraska:  Trailed 8-2, won 10-9 on Angelo Peraza's walk-off single

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

• 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

• April 16 vs. Portland: Trailed 3-0, won 7-6 on Jack Gurevitch's walk-off RBI single

• April 22 vs. San Francisco: Trailed 5-3, won 6-5 on Will Worthington's walk-off RBI single

BIG BATS
• Through 39 total games and six conference series, San Diego's offense has been among the most productive in the WCC, ranking…

- First in on-base percentage (.386)
- First in walks (183)
- First in hit by pitches (69)
- Tied for first in runs scored (261)
- Tied for first in RBIs (241)
- Second in home runs (47)
- Third in total bases (557)
- Third in stolen bases (46 in 70 attempts)

• The Toreros have hit home runs in consecutive at-bats on two occasions this year:

- March 25 at Santa Clara: back-to-back-to-back home runs (Smith, Peraza, and Sim)
 - April 22 vs. San Francisco: back-to-back home runs (DeCriscio and Gurevitch)

TOP PERFORMERS LAST WEEKEND (APRIL 21-23 VS. SAN FRANCISCO):
Austin Smith | SO | LHP/OF/DH | El Cajon, CA | UC San Diego | Granite Hills High School
• Batted team-high .556 (5-for-9) against San Francisco with three runs scored, a double, four RBIs, and a walk
• Two-RBI double in the fifth inning on Sunday gave USD a pair of key insurance runs
• Started last Friday night's game on the mound and threw five innings, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out five and walking none

Justin DeCriscio | SO | INF | Orange, CA | Orange Lutheran High School
• Had multiple hits in all three games against the Dons (two on Friday and Saturday, three on Sunday)
• .467 BA, .500 OBP, .733 SLG against San Francisco with two runs scored, four RBIs
• Led off last Saturday's game with his third homer of 2023
• Leads USD in batting average (.338), hits (50), stolen bases (11), and multi-hit games (15)
• Enters Friday night's action with four consecutive multi-hit performances

Kevin Sim | JR | UTIL | San Diego, CA | Torrey Pines High School
• Batted an even .400 (4-for-10) against San Francisco with five runs scored, two homers, three RBIs, and three walks
• Scored winning run from second on Saturday on Will Worthington's walk-off single after being intentionally walked
• Leads USD with 13 homers, 40 RBIs, 44 runs scored, .624 slugging percentage, has team-best 12 multi-RBI games.
• Leads the WCC with 40 RBIs in 2023, is tied for the conference lead with 44 runs scored, 13 homers rank second
• Was named WCC Player of the Week on February 20 and was 2023 All-WCC Preseason Team selection • Has started 16 games at first base, 16 in left field, five at third base, and one at second base so far this season

Ariel Armas | SO | C | Chula Vista, CA | St. Augustine High School
• Homered twice against San Francisco (April 21 and 23); has three home runs in his last six games after launching his first career college homer on April 15 against Portland
• Batted .273 last weekend with three runs scored, a double, four RBIs, and two walks
• Is 9-for-28 (.333) with six RBIs, two doubles, three home runs, and four walks in his last eight games after beginning the 2023 season 5-for-43
• Has started 21 of USD's 39 games in 2023 at catcher

Angelo Peraza | JR | UTIL | Chula Vista, CA | St. Augustine High School 
• Batted .286 (2-for-7) against San Francisco with a team-high six runs scored, a homer, an RBI, and a tied-for-team-high four walks
• Ranks second on USD roster with 45 hits in 2023, three of which have driven in a go-ahead run in the ninth inning or later
• Leads USD in doubles (9) and walks (27), ranks second on roster in batting average (.317), is tied for second among his teammates with seven home runs
• His 13 multi-hit games in 2023 are the second-most of any San Diego player

Jack Gurevitch | FR | INF/DH | Pacific Palisades, CA | Notre Dame High School
• Batted. 286 (4-for-14) against San Francisco with three runs scored, team-high six RBIs, three home runs, and two walks
• Homered twice on Friday and once on Saturday
• Pushed USD to its third walk-off win of 2023 on April 16 with a ninth-inning RBI single
• 2023: .267 (31-for-116), four doubles, two triples, four home runs, 20 RBIs, 18 runs
• 23 walks so far this season rank third on USD roster
• Has started 23 games at first base in 2023 and has served as the Toreros' DH 10 times

Will Worthington | JR | INF | Phoenix, AZ | Brophy College Prep
• Team-best 6-for-13 (.462) against USF with two runs scored, four RBIs, and a walk
• Recorded multiple hits on both Friday (April 21) and Saturday (April 22) vs. the Dons
• Earned USD its fourth walk-off win of 2023 last Saturday with a ninth-inning RBI single
• Enters Friday night's action on a five-game hit streak and has a notched a hit in 10 of his last 13 games dating back to April 4 at UC San Diego

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 18-20-1 totals so far in 2023, the Toreros are a conference-best 133-78-1 (.630) in that 212-game span.

• Next best within that timeframe are Gonzaga (122-96, .559), BYU (116-94, .552) and Portland (98-90, .521).