San Diego (20-21-1, 13-8 WCC)  •  BYU (18-24, 8-10 WCC)

Fowler Park (1,700) • San Diego, California

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

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SAN DIEGO — Winners of back-to-back series and 10 of their last 15 conference contests, San Diego baseball (20-21-1, 13-8 WCC) is set to return to Fowler Park this week to host BYU (18-24, 8-10 WCC) in what will mark the Toreros' final three home WCC games of 2023.

The series between the Toreros and Cougars is set to get underway at 6 p.m. on Thursday, followed by another 6 p.m. start on Friday and a 1 p.m. first pitch in the series finale on Saturday.

Saturday's game will mark USD's Senior Day. The Toreros' seven graduating players (James Arakawa, Andrew Semo, Ryan Robinson, Conner Thurman, Will Worthington, Jack Hyde, and Garrett Rennie) will be honored in a pregame ceremony at Fowler Park.

All three contests will be streamed live on the WCC Network with Jack Cronin on the call. Live statistics will be available on USDToreros.com.

LAST TIME OUT: A DOMINANT SERIES WIN OVER LMU
• The Toreros took two of three in decisive fashion last weekend at first-place Loyola Marymount, beating the Lions by an emphatic 11-1 margin on Friday (April 28) and a score of 6-3 on Saturday (April 29) before dropping a wild, back-and-forth 10-9 finale on Sunday.

• USD's two wins over the weekend kept them in a three-way tie for second place in the WCC standings with Gonzaga and Portland. All three teams are now two games back of the Lions' first-place spot.

ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS BYU
• San Diego is 26-10 against the Cougars all-time, with the two programs' most recent meeting coming last April 21-23 in Provo.

• USD took two of three that weekend at Miller Park, dropping the series opener by an 11-7 margin before recovering for convincing 8-3 and 4-3 wins on Friday and Saturday.

• The Toreros last hosted BYU at Fowler Park from May 6-8, 2021. They dropped the first two games to the Cougars that year by scores of 6-4 and 11-10 (10 innings) before earning a wild, walk-off 13-12 win in the series finale on Saturday.

• San Diego's walk-off hero that afternoon was catcher Shane McGuire, who went on to be selected by Oakland in the 9th round of the 2021 MLB Draft. He currently plays for the Midland Rockhounds, the Athletics' AA affiliate.

FOR STARTERS (PROBABLE)
Thursday:
• Graduate right-hander Garrett Rennie will begin Thursday's game on the mound for the Toreros in what marks his 11th start of 2023 and the 20th of his career.

• Through 49.2 innings pitched so far this season he has posted 1-2 record and a 4.71 ERA while striking out 37 and walking 13.

• Rennie's most recent outing came last Sunday at Loyola Marymount, and it marked his first relief appearance of 2023.

• He was charged with zero runs on three hits and a walk across 1.1 innings that afternoon (April 30) after entering in the third.

San Diego's Friday and Saturday starters are TBA.

WILL WORTHINGTON NAMED WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• After stepping up and leading San Diego baseball to back-to-back conference series wins, junior third baseman Will Worthington has been named the WCC Player of the Week for May 1, 2023, the West Coast Conference announced on Monday afternoon (May 1).

• The Phoenix, Arizona native batted .429 (6-for-14) across four games last week as he scored five times, doubled twice, homered twice, drove in seven runs, and drew three walks while maintaining a 1.000 slugging percentage.

• He started his week with an RBI double on Tuesday evening against CSUN, then he scored a pair of runs and drove a run in alongside a walk on Friday night at Loyola Marymount.

• Worthington continued on Saturday against the Lions with a go-ahead eighth-inning two-run homer before finishing strong on Sunday afternoon with a commanding 4-for-4 performance that saw him score two runs, double, homer, drive in two runs, and walk.

• It's the first WCC weekly honor of Worthington's career and USD's third of 2023 after Kevin Sim (February 20) and Jack Costello (February 27) took home the award in back-to-back weeks earlier this season.

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 42 total games and seven conference series, San Diego's offense has been among the most productive in the WCC, ranking…

• First in on-base percentage (.389)
• First in walks (199)
• First in hit by pitches (75)
• Second in runs scored (298)
• Tied for first in RBIs (241)
• Second in RBIs (278)
• Second in total bases (638)
• Third in stolen bases (50 in 75 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 OVER THE WEEKEND:
Austin Smith | SO | LHP/OF/DH | El Cajon, CA | UC San Diego | Granite Hills High School
• Batted .538 (7-for-13), with two runs scored, and four RBIs against Loyola Marymount over the weekend
• Recorded three different go-ahead RBI singles against the Lions on Sunday (April 30)
• Started last Friday night's game on the mound and allowed a run on three hits and three walks with a strikeout across 4.1innings

Will Worthington | JR | INF | Phoenix, AZ | Brophy College Prep
• Earned his first career WCC Player of the Week honor after batting .500 (5-for-10) against the Lions
• Hammered a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning on Saturday night and was a career-best 4-for-4 on Sunday with two runs scored, a double, a homer, two RBIs, and a walk.
• Is now batting .291 (25-for-86) in 2023 with six doubles, 23 RBIs, and five home runs, which are tied for third on the USD roster

James Arakawa | GR | UTIL | Walnut, CA | Pacific | Walnut High School
• Batted .455 (5-for-11) at Loyola Marymount with a team-high seven runs scored
• .298 (42-for-141) batting average in 2023 ranks third on USD roster
• Has started 30 games at second base, six at shortstop, and three in left field for the Toreros this season

Ariel Armas | SO | C | Chula Vista, CA | St. Augustine High School
• Batted .417 (5-for-12) at LMU with a team-high three doubles and a tied-for-team-high six RBIs
• Has started 24 of USD's 42 games at catcher, has also appeared in left field
• Has recorded a hit in nine of his last 11 games, a span that's seen him bat .350 (14-for-40) while compiling five multi-hit performances
• .350 batting average since April 8 is second only to Will Worthington (.372)

Gabe D'Arcy | SO | OF | San Clemente, CA | Arkansas |  JSerra Catholic High School
• Made his college debut at Loyola Marymount on April 28; drew a walk in three at-bats
• Notched his first college hit on April 29 with an opposite-field triple into Page Stadium's right-field corner, also scored two runs, drew a walk, and stole a base
• Doubled the next day (April 30) in the series finale as part of a two-hit performance that saw him score a run
• Transferred to San Diego after spending his freshman year at Arkansas
• Attended JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, California

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 20-21-1 totals so far in 2023, the Toreros are a conference-best 135-79-1 (.630) in that 215-game span.
• Next best within that timeframe are Gonzaga (125-97, .563), BYU (117-97, .546) and Portland (100-91, .523).