LAS VEGAS — Four-seed San Diego baseball (24-25-1, 17-10 WCC) on Wednesday night concluded its 2023 season with a loss in the opening round of the West Coast Conference Tournament, falling to five-seed Saint Mary's (22-26, 14-13 WCC) by a 17-8 margin at Las Vegas Ballpark.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Gaels jumped out to an 4-0 lead in the top of the first before an RBI triple from Will Worthington and an RBI single from Ariel Armas in the top of the second cut the deficit to two.
- Saint Mary's answered in the top of the third and fourth innings with a pair of two-run homers to make it 8-2 in their favor.
- An RBI single from Austin Smith and a sacrifice fly from James Arakawa in the bottom of the fifth got the Toreros back within four, but SMC responded with another home run in the top of the sixth to move the score to 9-4.
- After Arakawa again made it a four-run game in the seventh with an RBI single, the Gaels scored eight times in the top of the ninth to take a 17-5 lead into the game's final frame.
- Down to their last three outs, the Toreros rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth on a pinch-hit RBI from Andrew Semo and a two-run double from Jack Costello, but could not overcome Saint Mary's late-game surge.
ON THE MOUND
TORERO TIDBITS
- Gabe D'Arcy paced the USD offense with a three-hit performance that saw him rip a double and score a run.
- He finished his injury-shortened 2023 season on a 10-game hit streak and with at least one hit in 10 of the 11 games he appeared in. His lone hitless performance this year came in his college debut.
- Angelo Peraza had two hits and scored a team-high three runs. He finished his junior campaign by reaching base in each of the Toreros' final 30 games.
- Armas also had two hits and drove in a run. He batted .292 (21-for-72) in WCC play this season.
- James Arakawa went 1-for-4 with an RBI, a run scored, and an outstanding diving play up the middle while playing second base. After spending the first four years of his college tenure at Pacific, Wednesday night marked the first WCC Tournament game of his career.
- Semo drove in a run and came around to score after entering as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the ninth. His single season as a graduate transfer at USD marked a homecoming for the Coronado, California native.
- Costello went 1-for-2 in his first at-bat since April 11. His efforts to rejoin the lineup after suffering an injury were rewarded with a pair of ninth-inning RBIs.
- Conner Thurman led the game with five strikeouts. His 14-4 career record and .777 career winning percentage as a Torero rank third in program history, and his 12.84 career K/9 across three-plus seasons at USD is a program record.
WHAT IT MEANS
- San Diego finished the 2023 season with a 17-10 conference record that had it tied for second in the WCC. Both marks are identical to where it ended the 2022 regular season.
- USD's qualification for the WCC Tournament this year marks the first time in program history that the Toreros have appeared in the event in back-to-back seasons.
- Head coach Brock Ungricht recorded his 50th win as San Diego's head coach on April 6 at Gonzaga, making him the fastest head coach in program history to reach that milestone.
- Led by Peraza on the First Team, seven Toreros earned 2023 All-WCC honors.
- Three Toreros earned WCC Player of the Week Honors in 2023 (Kevin Sim, Costello, and Worthington), and one was named the NCAA Baseball National Player of the Week (Costello).
The Toreros will resume their pursuit of a WCC Championship next spring.
