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Baseball

Seven Toreros Earn All-WCC Baseball Honors

Angelo Peraza headlines San Diego accolades with selection to All-WCC First Team

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Seven Toreros earned 2023 WCC Baseball All-Conference honors, the West Coast Conference announced on Tuesday afternoon.

San Diego's accolades were led by Angelo Peraza's selection to the All-WCC First Team, followed by Kevin Sim and Austin Smith landing on the All-WCC Second Team, Ariel Armas, Justin DeCriscio, and Ryan Robinson earning All-WCC Honorable Mentions, and Jack Gurevitch being selected to the All-WCC Freshman Team.

Peraza earned a spot on the All-WCC First Team after leading USD in hits (59), batting average (.328), multi-hit games (17), and outfield assists (11) in 2023.

The Chula Vista, California native started 45 games in right field, two in center field, and one at catcher in 2023 and notched three go-ahead hits in the ninth inning or later this year. He enters Wednesday night's WCC Tournament action on a team-high 29-game reached-base streak.

His All-WCC First Team honor is the first major conference honor of his college career. Peraza was named a WCC All-Academic Honorable Mention in 2022.

Sim was named to the All-WCC Second Team after putting together an explosive offensive season that remains impressive despite him missing USD's final 11 games in 2023 due to injury.

The San Diego, California native batted .298 (42-for-141) in 2023 while scoring 44 runs, notching 40 RBIs, walking 24 times, and stealing nine bases.

His 13 home runs in 2023 were tied for third in the WCC and were the most of any conference player with 38 games played or less this season.

Sim is a two-time WCC Player of the Week (February 19, 2023 and March 14, 2022) and has been previously selected to the All-WCC Preseason Team (2023) and the All-WCC First Team (2022).

Smith picked up a selection to the All-WCC Second Team after excelling both as a position player and pitcher in 2023.

He batted .312 (29-for-93) in conference play this season with a team-high 25 RBIs and 19 walks while posting a 4-2 record, a save, a 3.71 ERA, and a 10.85 K/9 in 34.0 innings pitched on the mound.

Smith has both started, pitched in middle relief, and closed games for USD in 2023. The selection to the 2023 All-WCC Second Team is the first conference honor of his college career.

Armas earned an All-WCC Honorable Mention after batting .292 (21-for-72) in conference play with 11 runs scored, eight doubles, three home runs, 15 RBIs, 11 walks, four hit by pitches, and a stolen base.

The Chula Vista, California native has started 30 of USD's 48 games in 2023 at catcher and has thrown out six would-be base stealers.

His selection as a 2023 All-WCC Honorable Mention is the first conference accolade of his college career.

DeCriscio was named an All-WCC Honorable Mention after an impressive sophomore season that saw him become San Diego's most consistent hitter.

The Orange, California native batted .325 (55-for-169) in the 2023 regular season with 38 runs scored, nine doubles, a triple, three home runs, 19 RBIs, 11 walks, five hit by pitches, and a team-high 13 stolen bases in 19 attempts.

His 17 multi-hit games in 2023 were tied for the USD lead with Angelo Peraza and his 13-game hit streak was the longest by any San Diego player this season.

DeCriscio started 39 of the Toreros' 44 games at shortstop in 2023 en route to his first-ever conference award.

Robinson was named an All-WCC Honorable Mention after establishing himself as San Diego's most trusted and effective pitcher. He posted a team-best 7-1 record and a 2.47 ERA across a team-high 21 appearances and 40 innings pitched in 2023, striking out 40 batters against just 11 walks while earning a single save.

The Livermore, California native moved to the Toreros' starting rotation in May and turned in his most dominant two outings to date, finishing the regular season by allowing just two earned runs on eight hits across 9.2 innings, striking out six against only two walks in that span.

Robinson has earned an All-WCC Honorable Mention in all three years he's spent in San Diego (2023, 2022, and 2021) after joining the Toreros as a transfer from Ohlone College in 2020.

Gurevitch was selected to the All-WCC Freshman Team after making an immediate impact in his first college season, starting 43 of San Diego's 44 games this year (33 at first base, 10 as the designated hitter), while batting .270 (43-for-159) with 22 runs scored, seven doubles, three triples, six home runs, and 28 RBIs.

His 26 walks this season are the third-most on the USD roster, and on April 16 he lifted San Diego to a key walk-off win over Portland with a ninth-inning RBI single.

Gurevitch's selection to the 2023 All-WCC Freshman Team is the first conference honor of his college career.

The fourth-seeded Toreros are set to begin play in the 2023 West Coast Conference Baseball Tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada on Wednesday night against five-seed Saint Mary's. First pitch at Las Vegas Ballpark is set for 7:20 p.m. The game will be streamed live on the WCC Network, with live statistics available on WCCSports.com. Tickets for the 2023 WCC Tournament can be purchased here.

 
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Players Mentioned

Angelo Peraza

#14 Angelo Peraza

C/UTL
5' 9"
Freshman
Ryan Robinson

#38 Ryan Robinson

RHP
6' 3"
Redshirt Sophomore
Kevin Sim

#16 Kevin Sim

INF
6' 2"
Freshman
Ariel Armas

#16 Ariel Armas

C
6' 0"
Sophomore
Justin DeCriscio

#14 Justin DeCriscio

INF
5' 10"
Sophomore
Jack Gurevitch

#19 Jack Gurevitch

INF
6' 0"
Freshman
Austin Smith

#24 Austin Smith

LHP/OF
5' 11"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Angelo Peraza

#14 Angelo Peraza

5' 9"
Freshman
C/UTL
Ryan Robinson

#38 Ryan Robinson

6' 3"
Redshirt Sophomore
RHP
Kevin Sim

#16 Kevin Sim

6' 2"
Freshman
INF
Ariel Armas

#16 Ariel Armas

6' 0"
Sophomore
C
Justin DeCriscio

#14 Justin DeCriscio

5' 10"
Sophomore
INF
Jack Gurevitch

#19 Jack Gurevitch

6' 0"
Freshman
INF
Austin Smith

#24 Austin Smith

5' 11"
Sophomore
LHP/OF