conner thurman - credit thomas christensen
Thomas Christensen
5
CSUN CSUN 9-7
6
Winner San Diego USD 8-7
CSUN CSUN
9-7
5
Final
6
San Diego USD
8-7
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
CSUN CSUN 0 0 1 3 0 0 1 0 0 5 5 0
San Diego USD 3 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 X 6 5 1

W: Thurman, Conner (1-0) L: Wauschek, Braden (0-1) S: Smith, Austin (2)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Xander Brayfield '27 | Media Relations Intern

Early Offense, Strong Bullpen Power Midweek Win Over Matadors

Costello homers, Thurman dominant on the mound as Toreros hang on to prevail by 6-5 margin at Fowler Park

SAN DIEGO — A first inning three-run shot from Jack Costello paired with a gritty collective performance from the Torero bullpen powered San Diego baseball (8-7, 0-0 WCC) to a hard-fought 6-5 win over CSUN (9-7, 0-0 Big West) on Tuesday night at Fowler Park, splitting the season series with the Matadors.

San Diego found itself trailing by a run in the bottom of the fourth after Costello's first-inning bomb, but reclaimed the lead by plating two runs in the fourth and one run in the sixth, which provided enough cushion for Conner Thurman — who was one of six Torero pitchers to record a scoreless outing in relief — and company to close things out on the mound and seal the win.

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Costello got the Toreros on the board early by hammering the third pitch he saw over Fowler Park's left-field wall, plating Justin DeCriscio and Dustin Allen (who had reached on back-to-back walks) to give his team a 3-0 advantage in the bottom of the first. 
  • The Matadors answered with a trio of home runs in the top of the third and fourth innings to take a 4-3 lead.
  • San Diego loaded the bases with a pair of singles and a walk in the bottom of the fourth, allowing Decriscio to step up to the plate to draw an RBI hit-by-pitch and tie the game at four apiece. 
  • Allen was next, and sent an RBI sacrifice lineout to center field to plate Will Worthington and take back the lead for the Toreros at 5-4. 
  • The score remained the same until the bottom of the sixth inning, when Costello sent a sacrifice fly to deep left field, scoring Armas to make the score 6-4 in favor of the home team.
  • CSUN answered in the top of the seventh with an RBI ground-out to cut the USD lead back down to one going into the seventh-inning stretch, but got no further, as the Toreros hung on for a 6-5 midweek win.
ON THE MOUND
  • Righty Ryan Kysar got the start on the mound for the Toreros and turned in 3.2 innings, surrendering four runs on five hits, walking two and striking out five. 
  • Thurman entered in relief of Ivran Romero with the bases loaded and nobody out in the top of the fifth and got out of the jam by striking out the first batter he faced and inducing an inning-ending double play, keeping CSUN off the board and San Diego in front. 
  • He ended his night by striking out the side in the top of the sixth, finishing with two perfect innings and four strikeouts. 
  • Drake Frize, Alex Schrier, and Vaughn Mauterer teamed up to bridge the gap to the eighth inning with 1.1 scoreless innings, working around four walks and striking out one.
  • Smith then took the mound out of the DH spot in the top of the eighth and completed the four-out save, striking out two of the four batters he faced while allowing no runs. 
TORERO TIDBITS
  • Thurman picked up the win on the mound for USD, moving to 1-0 in the 2024 season. 
  • San Diego tied its season-high by drawing a season-high eight walks against CSUN, matching its total from last Tuesday night at San Diego State. Three of those walks the Toreros drew against the Matadors came around to score. 
  • Decriscio, Allen, and Armas each ended the night with two free passes apiece.
  • Seven relievers from the Torero bullpen teamed up in relief of Kysar after he departed in the fourth inning and combined to pitch 6.1 innings of one-run ball.
  • Freshman catcher Nico Libed, who attended nearby Eastlake High School, doubled in his first at-bat at Fowler Park on Tuesday night after recording his first college hit on Sunday afternoon at No. 17 DBU.
UP NEXT
The Toreros are back in action on Friday afternoon, when they travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan to begin a three-game set against the Wolverines in what will mark USD's final non-conference series of 2024.

First pitch in game one at Ray Fisher Stadium is scheduled for 12:00 pm.
 
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