San Diego Toreros (27-12, 11-4 WCC)  •  Gonzaga Bulldogs (17-20, 12-3 WCC)

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

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SAN DIEGO — Winners of five in a row and sixteen of its last 18 games, San Diego baseball (27-12, 11-4 WCC) is set to continue a nine-game homestand on Friday evening, taking on Gonzaga (17-20, 12-3 WCC) in a crucial three-game West Coast Conference series at Fowler Park.

First pitch in the series opener on Friday night against the Zags is set for 6:05 p.m., followed by a 5:05 p.m. start in game two on Saturday evening, and a 1:05 p.m. finale on Sunday afternoon. All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Jack Cronin and Braden Surprenant on the call. A free, live audio simulcast will be available alongside live statistics on USDToreros.com.

LAST TIME OUT - City Champs: Toreros Demolish Aztecs at Fowler Park
• A five-run first inning that featured home runs from both Jakob Christian and Justin DeCriscio kicked off an early game offensive explosion for San Diego on Tuesday night as it took down crosstown rival San Diego State by an 11-2 margin at Fowler Park to earn a midweek non-conference victory over the Aztecs.

• Strong performances on the mound from starter Ryan Kysar and the USD bullpen set the stage for the Torero bats — highlighted by yet another multi-home run game from Christian — to strike for three runs in the third, four in the second, and one in the eighth after their first-inning barrage.

• With Tuesday night's win over the Aztecs, USD has secured the 2024 San Diego "City Championship" by finishing the season series 2-0 over the Aztecs and maintaining a 2-0 record over UC San Diego, with an opportunity to stay undefeated with a win over the Tritons in the series finale on May 7.

Notable:
• DeCriscio's first inning two-run shot is his first longball of 2024, and fourth career home run.

• Thurman  picked up the win for the Toreros on the mound, moving his record to 3-0 in 2024.

• Tuesday night marked Christian's marks his fifth multi-homer game of 2024.

• He now has 19 total home runs in 2024, which moves him into second place for San Diego's all-time single season home run record, behind Kris Bryant's remarkable 2013 total of 31.

• DeCriscio's four RBIs matched his single-game high in 2024.

• Smith was 2-for-3 from the plate, with a pair of runs scored, a pair of RBIs, and one walk.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST GONZAGA
• The Toreros are 56-44-1 against the Bulldogs all-time, with the two teams' most recent meeting coming last season from April 6-8, 2023, when San Diego took two of three from Gonzaga in Spokane. USD won game one at the Patterson Baseball Complex 8-1 that weekend, lost a tough 3-2 decision in game two, and rallied to earn a 9-3 victory in the series finale.

• USD has won seven of its last 10 matchups against the Zags dating back to 2021.

• In May 2022, USD beat the Bulldogs twice in two days to secure the 2022 West Coast Conference Tournament Championship at Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton, California, which marked the Toreros' first conference title and NCAA Tournament berth since 2013.

• San Diego last played Gonzaga at Fowler Park on May 20, 21, 2022, when it lost two of three to the then-No. 10 Bulldogs. USD lost an 8-4 decision in game one that weekend, but split the remaining games against the Zags in a Saturday doubleheader by scores of 7-4 (win) and 1-0 (loss).

LOGAN REDDEMANN NAMED WCC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
• First-year right-handed pitcher Logan Reddemann has been named the WCC Freshman of the Week for April 22, 2024, the West Coast Conference announced on Monday afternoon.

• Reddemann played a key role in San Diego's road sweep of Pepperdine last weekend, firing five strong innings on the mound while scattering seven hits, walking none, and striking out three in his Saturday afternoon start to lead the Toreros to a 4-2 victory.

• This week's honor is the second WCC Freshman of the Week recognition of Reddemann's young college career after he was also selected on April 1. USD has now taken home five different weekly conference awards in 2024, with Jakob Christian (April 8) and Jack Gurevitch(March 18) earning WCC Player of the Week nods alongside a WCC Pitcher of the Week selection for Calvin Schapira on March 25.
 
FOR STARTERS (PROBABLE)
FRIDAY: Right-hander Josh Randall (3-2, 3.63 ERA) is set to start game one for the Toreros against the Bulldogs at Fowler Park.

• He most recently pitched San Diego's series opener against Pepperdine last weekend,  and allowed six hits through six total innings on the hill. He finished his night surrendering four runs, with five strikeouts and just one walk.

• Across 45.2 innings and nine starts in 2024 he has struck out a team-high 55 batters, walked 17, and held opposing hitters to a .214 average.

• 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 campaign 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: Logan Reddemann, the reigning, two-time WCC Freshman of the Week, will make his ninth start of the season and eleventh overall pitching appearance of 2024 when he takes the mound for USD on Saturday evening.

• Reddemann (4-3, 4.56 ERA) most recently pitched last Saturday in game two of San Diego's series at Pepperdine, when he surrendered just one earned run through five innings pitched, allowing seven hits while striking out three and walking none.

• So far in 2024 he has struck out 41 and walked 12 across a team-high 47.1 innings pitched.

• A 6-foot-2, 185-pound righty from Palmdale, California, Reddemann 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 play middle infield for USD.

SUNDAY: After a stellar eight-inning performance in the series finale at Pepperdine last weekend, Austin Smith (2-0, 3.60 ERA) is set to stay in the rotation for Sunday's match-up against Gonzaga, where he will make his fifth start, and twelfth overall pitching appearance.

• He last pitched in the Toreros' series finale at Pepperdine on April 21, when he dominated through eight shutout innings that saw him allow just three hits, walk two, and strike out four. It marked the longest outing of Smith's college career and USD's most dominant pitching performance since April 15, 2022, when Brycen Mautz threw a complete-game shutout in a 1-0 victory over Loyola Marymount at Fowler Park.

•  Smith, who leads his team in total saves with three, has given up just twelve total runs across 30 total innings, and has struck out 29 total batters while walking 16.

• As well as dominating on the mound, Smith has also batted in all 39 games so far for USD, primarily as a designated hitter, but has also seen time in left field.

• At the plate he has put together a .328/.540/.432 slash line with 29 RBIs and seven home runs, which is the second-most on the Torero roster.

TOP TORERO HITTERS AT PEPPERDINE AND VS. SDSU (4 GAMES, APRIL 19-21, 23)
Austin Smith | .571 AVG (8-for-14), 5 R, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 3 BB, .714 SLG, .647 OBP

Jakob Christian | .474 AVG (9-for-19), 6 R, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 1.105 SLG, .474 OBP

Jack Costello | .400 AVG (6-for15), 6 R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB, HBP, .667 SLG, .500 OBP

Justin DeCriscio | .333 AVG (4-for-12), 3 R, HR, 5 RBI, BB, 3 HBP, .583 SLG, .500 OBP

TOP TORERO HITTERS IN WEST COAST CONFERENCE PLAY (15 GAMES)
Jakob Christian | .452 AVG (28-for-62), 18 R, 4 2B, 12 HR, 31 RBI, 4 BB, 3 HBP, 1.097 SLG, .507 OBP

Austin Smith | .370 AVG (20-for-54), 15 R, 3 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 9 BB, 5 HBP, .537 SLG, .500 OBP

Jack Gurevitch | .352 AVG (20-for-57), 14 R, 3 2B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 12 BB, 2 HBP, .561 SLG, .479 OBP

Ariel Armas | .339 AVG (19-for-56), 11 R, 2B, HR, 8 RBI, 8 BB, 2 HBP, .411 SLG, .439 OBP

Will Worthington | .327 AVG (16-for-49), 12 R, 3 2B, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 2 HBP, .388 SLG, .389 OBP

Dustin Allen | .286 AVG (18-for-63), 9 R, 3 2B, 2 3B, 11 RBI, 7 BB, 2 HBP, .397 SLG, .375 OBP

TOP TORERO HITTERS IN 2024
Jack Gurevitch | .373 AVG (56-for-150), 37 R, 10 2B, 3B, 6 HR, 27 RBI, 27 BB, 6 HBP, .573 SLG, .486 OBP

Jakob Christian | .367 AVG (47-for-128), 38 R, 8 2B, 19 HR, 47 RBI, 14 BB, 5 HBP, .875 SLG, .449 OBP

Austin Smith | .328 AVG (45-for-137), 32 R, 8 2B, 7 HR, 29 RBI, 19 BB, 9 HBP, .540 SLG, .432 OBP

Jack Costello | .300 AVG (48-for-160), 31 R, 8 2B, 3B, 6 HR, 42 RBI, 12 BB, 8 HBP, .475 SLG, .374 OBP

Angelo Peraza | .293 AVG (46-for-157), 41 R, 12 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 23 RBI, 20 BB, 9 HBP, .439 SLG, .399 OBP

Dustin Allen | .288 AVG (45-for-156), 25 R, 9 2B, 3 3B, HR, 20 RBI, 23 BB, 2 HBP, .404 SLG, .383 OBP

BIG BATS
Across 39 games in 2024, the Toreros lead the WCC in the following offensive categories...

• Batting average (.300)
• Hits (413)
• Sacrifice bunts (34)
• Runs scored per game (7.4)

• USD ranks second in doubles (74), home runs per game (1.21), on base percentage (0.393), total runs scored (290), and slugging percentage (0.466), and is third in the league in doubles per game (1.90), and total home runs (47).

A GREAT YEAR FOR GURV
• Jack Gurevitch, who was named the WCC Player of the Week on March 18, leads the WCC with 56 hits, a .373 batting average, 1.44 hits per game, and a .486 on-base percentage entering Friday afternoon's action.

• Gurevitch's 12-game hit streak earlier this season is the longest by a Torero in 2024.

CHRISTIAN IS CRUSHIN' IT
Jakob Christian, who was named the WCC Player of the Week on April 4, leads the WCC in the following categories:

• Home Runs (19)

• Home Runs Per Game (.56)

• RBIs Per Game (1.38)

• Slugging Percentage (.875)

• He ranks second within the league in total RBIs (47), runs scored per game (1.12), and total bases (112)

• He also ranks Top 10 nationally in three of those categories: Home Runs (8th), Home Runs Per Game (4th), and Slugging Percentage (7th)

• He has totaled five multi-homer games this season, and has put together 16 different multi-hit performances.

• With his pair of homers on Tuesday against San Diego State, he now has 19 total home runs in 2024, which moves him into second place for San Diego's all-time single season home run record, behind Kris Bryant's 2013 total of 31.

CLUTCH COSTELLO
• Jack Costello ranks second for the Toreros with 42 RBIs in 2024, which is the third-most among WCC players.

The senior utility player's career college accolades include:

• NCAA National Player of the Week (February 27, 2023)
• WCC Player of the Week (February 27, 2023)
• WCC All-Tournament Team (2022)
• All-WCC Preseason Team (2022)
• Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American (2021)
• All-WCC Freshman Team (2021)
• All-WCC Honorable Mention (2021)
•WCC All-Academic Honorable Mention (2022 and 2023)

POWERED BY PERAZA
• Angelo Peraza's 41 runs scored this season is second in the WCC.

WATCH ME WHIP…NOW WATCH THIS STRIKEOUT
• Through 35 games this season the San Diego pitching staff leads the WCC with a 1.32 WHIP and an average of 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings.

• USD is also pacing the conference in hits allowed per nine innings (8.13), which ranks 25th nationally.

GOLD GLOVES
• The Toreros' .980 team fielding percentage in 2024 leads the WCC and ranks 16th nationally.

• The national leader in that category (Rider University) currently holds a .983 mark.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
• San Diego is 16-8 in non-conference play so far this season, and has secured wins over #16 Texas, Arizona (twice) #17 Dallas Baptist, Michigan (three times), and USC (twice).

• As of Thursday afternoon, the Toreros are at #31 in overall NCAA RPI and #14 in non-conference RPI

• USD ranks 92nd in overall strength of schedule, and 19th in non-conference strength of schedule.

• As a whole, USD is 9-6 again Power Five opponents in 2024, and is 4-1 against teams from the Pac-12.

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 27-12 record so far in 2024, the Toreros are a conference-best 166-95-1 (.636) in that 262-game span.

•  Next best within that time frame are Portland (130-111, .539), Gonzaga (143-126, .532), and Saint Mary's (140-128, .522).