austin smith, justin decriscio, ariel armas and ivran romero -credit anderson haigler
8
Winner San Diego USD 9-7
6
Michigan MICH 6-12
Winner
San Diego USD
9-7
8
Final
6
Michigan MICH
6-12
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
San Diego USD 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 3 1 8 13 0
Michigan MICH 1 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 1 6 13 1

W: Mauterer, Vaughn (1-0) L: Mitch Voit (1-3) S: Romero, Ivran (1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Three-Run Eighth Pushes Toreros Past Wolverines in Ann Arbor

Big performances from DeCriscio and Smith help San Diego earn 8-6 win over Michigan at Ray Fisher Stadium

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — San Diego baseball (9-7, 0-0 WCC) on Friday afternoon came out victorious in a hard-fought, back-and-forth battle at Ray Fisher Stadium, beating Michigan (6-12, 0-0 Big 10) by an 8-6 margin after mounting a decisive three-run rally in the top of the eighth inning to take the series opener.

The Toreros trailed by as many as three early on and were down by a run heading into the second-to-last frame, but ultimately answered each time the Wolverines pulled ahead. 

USD's resilience was fueled by strong performances at the plate by both Justin DeCriscio and Austin Smith, who combined to drive in four runs and score four more while teaming up to hammer a home run and three doubles.

True freshman Logan Reddeman started for San Diego on the mound before passing the baton to a quartet of Torero relief pitchers. Drake Frize and Alex Schrier turned in USD's most dynamic outings on Friday, striking out four batters apiece across a total of 3.2 innings.

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Angelo Peraza wasted no time in setting the tone on Friday, hammering the very first pitch of the game to deep left-center field for a leadoff triple. After Jack Gurevitch pushed a sacrifice bunt past the pitcher's mound to the right side of the infield, USD had an 1-0 lead.
  • San Diego's lead proved to be short-lived. Michigan's leadoff hitter in the bottom of the first inning worked a full count before sending a solo shot to left, providing an immediate answer as the Wolverines knotted the score at 1-1.
  • Reddemann kept Michigan quiet until the bottom of the fourth, when he was touched up for a trio of runs on a pair of RBI doubles and an RBI groundout, putting USD behind by a 4-1 margin.
  • Jakob Christian began the Toreros' comeback efforts in the top of the fifth with a towering solo shot to left-center field, making it a 4-2 game after he rounded the bases for his second longball of 2024.
  • Peraza scalded the second pitch he saw in the top of the fifth down the left field line for a double before DeCriscio dropped an RBI double of his own into the left-center field gap, cutting the deficit to 4-3. A batter later, Jack Costello struck out, but the final pitch of his at-bat skipped to the backstop and allowed DeCriscio to dash home from third and score a game-tying run.
  • A U-M home run in the bottom of the seventh gave the Wolverines a 5-4 lead, but San Diego had an immediate response in the top of the eighth. DeCriscio fell behind 0-2 to lead off the frame but recovered by shooting an opposite-field line drive single to right field. Gurevitch was next, and took the first pitch he saw before sending a booming, game-tying double to left field, plating DeCriscio to even the score at 4-4. A wild pitch advanced Gurevitch to third, then Smith delivered the game's most decisive swing, hammering a go-ahead two-run homer over Ray Fisher Stadium's right-center field wall to put his team ahead 7-5. 
  • USD added a key insurance run in the top of the ninth on an RBI double from DeCriscio and a Michigan fielding error, which loomed large after the Wolverines scored once in the bottom of the ninth.
ON THE MOUND
  • Reddemann turned in four innings on Friday, surrendering four earned runs on nine hits while walking only one and striking out one.
  • Frize was first out of the San Diego bullpen and enjoyed an efficient outing, walking one and striking out two in a hitless fifth inning.
  • Schrier was next, and allowed a solo home run and nothing else while striking out four across 1.2 frames.
  • Vaughn Mauterer struck out the only batter he faced on three pitches to end the bottom of the seventh inning. 
  • Ivran Romero took over in the eighth and finished the game with two innings of one-run ball, allowing a pair of hits and a walk while striking out four to earn his first save of the season.
TORERO TIDBITS
  • DeCriscio was one of three Toreros (Peraza and Smith) who recorded multiple RBIs on Friday afternoon.
  • Peraza was 3-for-5 with a game-high three runs scored. 
  • Gurevitch drew USD's lone walk of the game in the top of the ninth inning.
  • Both of Christian's home runs in 2024 — which also mark his first two homers both at USD and at the Division I level — have come against Michigan (the first one was on March 3 at Dodger Stadium).
  • Schrier and Romero tied the game high with four strikeouts apiece.
  • Mauterer earned his first win in a USD uniform to move to 1-0.
  • San Diego has now scored first in 12 of its first 16 games in 2024.
UP NEXT
The Toreros are back in action tomorrow afternoon, when they continue their series with the Wolverines in Ann Arbor. First pitch in game two at Ray Fisher Stadium is set for 11:00 a.m. PST.
 
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