San Diego (11-14-1, 5-4 WCC)  •  UC San Diego (17-8, 7-2 Big West)

Triton Ballpark (500) • La Jolla, California

Live Stream • ESPN+  |  Live Statistics  • UCSDTritons.com

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LA JOLLA, Calif.— After taking two of three from Pepperdine at Fowler Park over the weekend, San Diego baseball (11-14-1, 5-4 WCC) is set to begin a five game road stretch on Tuesday with a crosstown matchup against UC San Diego (17-8, 7-2 Big West).

First pitch at Triton Ballpark is set for 6:00 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+, and live statistics will be provided on UCSD Tritons.com.

LAST TIME OUT
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 a series win as they took two games out of three from the Waves.

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.

ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS UC SAN DIEGO
• The Toreros are 56-7-2 against the Tritons all-time, with the two teams' most recent meeting coming almost exactly a year ago today — April 5, 2022 at Triton Ballpark, a 13-4 San Diego win.

• USD has won each of its last 11 matchups with UC San Diego, including a two-game sweep of the Tritons last season that included a 2-0 win at Fowler Park and the 13-4 victory in La Jolla.

FOR STARTERS (PROBABLE)
• Sophomore right-hander Jack Bunnell is set to make his San Diego debut on Tuesday at UC San Diego.

• The Irvine, California native transferred to USD after spending his freshman year at the University of  Washington, where he made three appearances for the Huskies while recording five innings pitched and three strikeouts.

• Bunnell attended Woodbridge High School in Irvine, California, where he threw two no-hitters, registered a 0.60 ERA in his senior year, and earned First-Team All-CIF and Pacific Coast League MVP honors alongside a .340 batting average at the plate.

• He is one of five players named Jack or Jackson on the 2023 San Diego roster (Hyde, Gurevitch, Frankovitch, Costello).

BIG BATS
• Through 26 total games and three conference series, San Diego's offense has been among the most productive in the WCC, ranking…

• Tied for first in home runs (27)
• First in walks (126)
• First in hit by pitches (53)
• Second in runs scored (180)
• Second in RBIs (166)
• Second in on-base percentage (.385)
• Second in stolen bases (24 in 38 attempts)
• Third in hits (218)
• Third in total bases (348)

• 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.

DECRISCIO STAYS HOT
• Sophomore shortstop Justin DeCriscio's third and fourth-inning singles on Sunday 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 DOES IT ALL
• Through 26 games in 2023, sophomore outfielder/designated hitter/left-handed pitcher Austin Smith is batting .283 (26-for-92) with 21 runs scored, six doubles, three home runs, and 26 RBIs while walking 17 times and being hit by seven pitches.

• He enters Tuesday night's action on a team-best 18-game on base streak and with at least one hit in 10 of his last 11 games, a span that's seen him bat .342 (13-for-38) while at one point putting together an eight-game hit streak.

• 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 total free passes are tied with freshman Jack Gurevitch for the USD lead.

• Smith shined at the plate when the Toreros needed him the most last weekend against Pepperdine, hammering a go-ahead grand slam on Saturday and a bases-loaded double for a pair of key insurance runs on Sunday to lead San Diego to a series win over the Waves.

• The El Cajon, California native (Granite Hills High School) has also excelled on the mound for the Toreros, posting a 1.46 ERA with 16 strikeouts, just one walk, a win, and a save across 12.1 total innings pitched (six appearances).

• After beginning Saturday night's game as USD's designated hitter, Smith took the mound out of the bullpen in the top of the sixth and stranded a pair of runners.

• He went on to fire 3.2 scoreless and hitless frames that evening, walking just a single batter as he closed out the game with five consecutive strikeouts to secure his first win as a Torero.

• Smith 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.

SIM SUNDAY
• A two-home run performance on March 25 at Santa Clara kick-started what is now a six-game hit streak for junior infielder Kevin Sim, giving him a team-high nine longballs through 26 games so far in 2023.

• His 28 RBIs, 30 runs scored, and 59 total bases are the most on the USD roster, and his .602 slugging percentage leads the team.

• Within the WCC, he ranks second in RBIs and runs scored while placing tied for second in home runs.

• Sim, who is a San Diego California native and attended nearby Torrey Pines High School, homered in three consecutive games at Fowler Park to begin the 2023 season (February 17-19 versus Nebraska).

• He has gone yard in consecutive games twice this season and has done so in back-to-back at-bats once.

• On Sunday, he powered USD to a series win over Pepperdine with a commanding, wire-to-wire effort on both sides of the ball, giving 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 is a two-time WCC Player of the Week (February 20, 2023 and March 14, 2022) and was one of two Toreros named to 2023 All-WCC Preseason Team (Jack Costello) in February.

• His father, Chong Soo Shim, played 15 years in the KBO League (OB Bears, Hyundai Unicorns and Samsung Lions).

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 walk-off single
• February 26 vs. UNLV - Trailed 3-0, won 6-5 on Jack Costello 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

• USD has been ahead at some point in 21 of its 26 games so far this season and has held a lead in nine of its 14 losses.

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 11-14-1 totals so far in 2023, the Toreros are a conference-best 126-72-1 (.636) in that 199-game span.

• Next best within that timeframe are Gonzaga (119-86, .580), BYU (108-90, .545) and Portland (93-83, .528).