San Diego (22-22-1, 15-9 WCC)  •  UC Irvine (30-14, 12-9 Big West)

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

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SAN DIEGO — San Diego baseball (22-22-1, 15-9 WCC) is set to close out its 2023 home schedule on Tuesday night against UC Irvine (30-14, 12-9 Big West), hosting the Anteaters at Fowler Park for the final of three matchups this season between the two teams.

First pitch in the midweek non-conference contest is set for 6 pm. Braden Surprenant will have the call on the WCC Network, and live statistics will be available on USDToreros.com.

LAST TIME OUT: A THIRD STRAIGHT WCC SERIES WIN
• The Toreros took two of three from BYU at Fowler Park last weekend (May 4-6), recovering for 8-4 and 5-1 wins on Friday and Saturday after dropping a tough 10-6 decision in the series opener on Thursday.

• USD has now won three consecutive WCC series and has prevailed in eight of its last 10 conference contests dating back to April 16's walk-off victory over Portland.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST UC IRVINE
• San Diego is 49-63-1 against the Anteaters all-time after dropping both of the two programs' previous meetings earlier this season.

• USD dropped a tough 14-6 decision to UCI back on February 27 at Fowler Park as part of the Tony Gwynn Legacy Tournament, then fell by a tight 3-2 margin on April 11 at Anteater Ballpark.

• The Toreros last defeated UC Irvine on March 22, 2022, when a walk-off RBI fielder's choice from Justin DeCriscio in the bottom of the 10th inning earned USD a wild 6-5 win at Fowler Park.

FOR STARTERS (PROBABLE)
• Sophomore right-hander Jack Bunnell is set to take the mound for the Toreros on Tuesday in what will mark his eighth appearance of 2023 and his fourth start of the season.

• He appeared in USD's most recent previous matchup against UC Irvine at Anteater Ballpark (March 22) and turned in the most dominant outing of his college career yet, striking out all five batters he faced as he completed 1.2 perfect frames after entering with two runners aboard and one out in the third.

• Bunnell most recently pitched on April 30 in the Toreros' Sunday series finale at Loyola Marymount, turning in 2.2 innings while allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits while walking one and striking out two.

• He is 0-0 with a 6.92 ERA across 13 total innings thus far in 2023, with 17 strikeouts to his credit against just five walks.

• Bunnell joined the Toreros as a transfer this season from the University of Washington, where he made three appearances on the mound for the Huskies in 2022 while recording five innings pitched and three strikeouts.

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 15-6-1 (.673) at Fowler Park in 2023 and is 309-207-2 (.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 45 total games and eight conference series, San Diego's offense has been among the most productive in the WCC, ranking…

- First in runs scored (317)
- First in on-base percentage (.388)
- First in walks (215)
- First in hit by pitches (77)
- First in RBIs (296)
- Second in home runs (53)
- Second in total bases (673)
- Second in stolen bases (52 in 79 attempts)
- Third in hits (419)

• 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)

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 22-22-1 totals so far in 2023, the Toreros are a conference-best 137-80-1 (.631) in that 218-game span.

• Next best within that timeframe are Gonzaga (126-99, .560), BYU (118-99, .543) and Portland (100-91, .523).