San Diego Toreros (4-4, 0-0 WCC)  •  UC Irvine (6-0, 0-0 Big West)

UCLA (4-3, 0-0 Pac 12) • Michigan (3-5, 0-0 Big 10)

Dodger Stadium Classic • Irvine, California and Los Angeles, California

Live Streaming • ESPN+  |  Radio • USDToreros.com  |  Live Statistics  • UCIrvineSports.com / UCLABruins.com

Social  •  Twitter.com/USDBaseball  •  Instagram.com/USDBaseball

LOS ANGELES — Winners of four of its last seven games, including a convincing series victory against Arizona last week, San Diego baseball (4-4, 0-0 WCC) will remain on the road this weekend with matchups at UC Irvine 6-0, 0-0 Big West) and UCLA (4-3, 0-0 Pac-12) followed by a game against Michigan (3-5, 0-0 Big 10) at Dodger Stadium.

The Toreros will get their weekend started on Friday with a 5:05 p.m. contest against UCI at Anteater Ballpark, then travel north for a 2:00 p.m. matchup against the Bruins at Jackie Robinson Stadium. USD will then wrap up its Los Angeles-area swing on Sunday by taking on the Wolverines at Dodger Stadium at 10:30 a.m.

Friday evening's game will be streamed live on ESPN+ alongside a live radio broadcast on USDToreros.com with Braden Surprenant on the call. Live statistics will be available on UCIrvineSports.com.

Saturday afternoon's game will be streamed live on Pac-12.com, with live statistics available on  UCLABruins.com.

Sunday morning's game will not be video streamed, but a live radio broadcast will be available on USDToreros.com with Jack Cronin and Braden Surprenant on the call.

LAST TIME OUT - Early Lead Slips Away in Midweek Matchup With Matadors

• Ariel Armas clubbed his first home run of 2024 as San Diego jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, but a five-run seventh inning from CSUN dealt the Toreros a 7-4 loss on Tuesday afternoon at Matador Field.

How It Happened:

• After Austin Smith walked to begin the top of the second and Will Worthington legged out an infield single, Armas turned on a high fastball and sent it to deep right field for his first homer of the season, plating both Smith and Worthington to make it 3-0 in the Toreros' favor.

• Smith added on in the following frame with an RBI sacrifice fly that scored Angelo Peraza from third to extend USD's advantage to 4-0.

• The Matadors answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the fourth to make it 4-1, then scored six times across the seventh and eighth innings on two RBI singles and a pair of homers to create a 7-4 lead that the Toreros could not overcome.

On The Mound:

• Conner Thurman started Tuesday's game at CSUN and turned in two perfect frames while striking out one in what marked his first start since May 29, 2021.

• Dallin Harrison was first out of the bullpen against the Matadors and allowed a run on a hit and a walk across 1.1 innings.

• Ivran Romero entered for Harrison with one out in the bottom of the fourth and struck out a game-high five across a team-high 3.1 frames but ultimately surrendered four earned runs on five hits and a walk.

• Calvin Schapira threw the game's final 1.1 innings, allowing two runs on two hits (both solo homers) while striking out two.

Notable:

• Peraza and Jack Gurevitch each tied the game high with two hits apiece.

• Armas recorded a game-high three RBIs and drew a game-high two walks.

• Peraza, Smith, Worthington, and Armas all scored a run, and Dustin Allen, Jakob Christian, and Smith all worked a single walk.

• The two solo home runs Schapira surrendered were the only hits he allowed.

• Torero pitchers teamed up to walk a season-low two batters on Tuesday.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST UC IRVINE

• The Toreros are 8-19 against the Anteaters all-time, with the two teams' most recent meeting coming last season on May 9, 2023, when USD suffered a tough 10-2 defeat to UCI at Fowler Park.

• San Diego most recently played at Anteater Ballpark on March 11, 2023, when it dropped a close 3-2 decision to UC Irvine.

• USD last beat UCI on March 22, 2022, when then-freshman Justin DeCrisicio won the game in the bottom of the 10th inning for San Diego with an RBI ground ball.

• The Toreros last won at UC Irvine on May 9, 2017, when it prevailed by a 5-1 margin in 14 innings at Anteater Ballpark.

• San Diego and UC Irvine were scheduled to play at Anteater Ballpark earlier this season on Tuesday, February 6, but the matchup was canceled due to inclement weather.

• The Anteaters will visit Fowler Park later this season on Tuesday, April 30.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST UCLA

• The Toreros are 8-19 against the Bruins all-time, with the two teams' most recent meeting coming on March 4, 2017, when USD earned a 3-1 win in 12 innings at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST MICHIGAN

• The Toreros are 6-4 against the Wolverines all-time, with the two teams' most recent meeting coming on February 23, 2018, when USD secured a 5-1 win at Fowler Park.

FOR STARTERS (PROBABLE)

FRIDAY: Right-hander Josh Randall will make his third career appearance for San Diego when he toes the rubber on Friday night at UC Irvine.

• He most recently appeared last Friday against Arizona, turning in five strong innings against his former team while allowing four runs (zero earned) on three hits while walking just one and striking out a career-high 10 in what marked just his third outing since 2022.

• Randall, a 6-foot-4, 240-pound junior from San Juan Capistrano, California, transferred to USD from Arizona, where he spent his freshman and sophomore seasons.

• He made 14 relief appearances during his true freshman season in 2022, compiling a 1-0 record and 15 strikeouts while limiting opposing hitters to a .231 batting average.

• As a sophomore in 2023, he was limited to just one pitching appearance due to injury.

• Randall brings postseason experience to the Torero rotation, having thrown three innings for the Wildcats in the 2022 NCAA Coral Gables Regional against Ole Miss.

• On January 26, he was tabbed as the 2024 Perfect Game Preseason WCC Pitcher of the Year.

SATURDAY: Trụe freshman Logan Reddemann will take the mound for USD on Saturday at UCLA in what will mark his third college start.

• He most recently appeared last Saturday against Arizona, when he surrendered three runs (two earned) on five hits while walking one and striking out six.

• Reddemann, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound righty from Palmdale, California, attended Quartz Hill High School in Lancaster, California, where he batted .420 across his prep career and compiled a 1.62 ERA.

• He earned First Team All-CIF Southern Selection honors in 2022 and 2023 and threw a perfect game during his senior season that included 11 strikeouts while going 3-for-4 at the plate with two doubles.

• Reddemann is a switch-hitting two-way player who could also see time for the Toreros in the infield.

SUNDAY: Redshirt junior Ryan Kysar is set to start for a third consecutive Sunday when he toes the rubber at Dodger Stadium.

• His most recent outing was last Sunday against Arizona, when he gave up five runs on seven hits across four innings while striking out five.

• Kysar appeared in 12 of San Diego's games last season, making six starts.

• He was 2-0 with a 6.04 ERA across 28.1 innings with 24 strikeouts in 2023.

• Kysar held Portland scoreless across 4.1 innings on April 14, 2023 while notching a season-high five strikeouts, and struck out four across four scoreless innings at Saint Mary's on May 14, 2023 in what marked his final start of the season.

• The Valencia, California native was named to the All-WCC Freshman Team in 2022 after appearing in 14 of San Diego's games and making 10 starts.

• He went 4-1 with a 5.24 ERA in his college debut season, notching 52 strikeouts against 25 walks in 56.2 innings pitched, which ranked third on the USD roster.

• Kysar joined the Toreros as a transfer from Arizona, where he redshirted during his true freshman season

TOP TORERO PERFORMERS LAST WEEKEND AGAINST ARIZONA

• Angelo Peraza | .538 (7-for-13), 4 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, .615 SLG, .571 OBP

• Jack Costello | .462 (6-for-13), 3 R, 2B, HR, 6 RBI, 1 BB, .769 SLG, .500 OBP

• Jack Gurevitch | .455 (5-for-11), 2 R, 2B, RBI, BB, 2 HBP, .545 SLG, .571 OBP

• Will Worthington | . 417 (5-for-12), 3 R, 2B, 5 RBI, BB, .500 SLG, 462 OBP

• Austin Smith | .333 (4-for-12), 5 R, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 13 TB, BB, 1.083 SLG, .357 OBP

A ONE-MAN WRECKING CREW

• Junior left-handed pitcher/outfielder Austin Smith did it all for San Diego this past weekend, batting .333 (4-for-12) across three games against Arizona while homering three times, scoring five runs, driving in seven, and walking once.

• On the mound he threw 1.1 pivotal frames, striking out all four batters he faced enroute to earning a save and securing the Toreros a series win over the Wildcats.

• Smith got his weekend started on Friday when he singled and scored a run, then followed up with a monster performance on Saturday night, leading USD to a dramatic comeback victory with two home runs, including a go-ahead grand slam in the bottom of the seventh.

• After putting the Toreros back in front with his bat, he took the mound from left field with two outs and the tying run aboard in the top of the eighth and ended the inning with a clutch strikeout. Smith stayed in the game for the ninth and locked up the win by striking out the side.

• On Sunday, he stayed hot by hammering a first-inning solo shot before he drew a walk and came around to score a pair of runs.

BEST IN THE WEST (COAST CONFERENCE)
• From the beginning of the 2019 season until now, no baseball team in the West Coast Conference has compiled a better overall win/loss record than San Diego.

• Combining their 2019 record (32-21), their abbreviated 2020 totals (12-4), their 33-12 mark in 2021, their 37-20 record in 2022, their 24-25-1 totals in 2023, and their 4-4 record so far in 2024, the Toreros are a conference-best 143-87-1 (.621) in that 231-game span.

•  Next best within that timeframe are Portland (111-99, .528), Gonzaga (127-114, .526), and Saint Mary's (121-116 (.510).