SAN DIEGO — San Diego baseball (30-12, 14-4 WCC) earned its second consecutive West Coast Conference sweep in dominant fashion on Sunday afternoon, bludgeoning Gonzaga (17-23, 12-6 WCC) with a season-high 19 runs and 21 hits to earn a decisive 19-0 shutout victory at Fowler Park, securing the Toreros their eighth straight win as they prevailed for the 19th time in their last 21 games. 

USD, which entered the weekend 1.5 games back of then-first-place Gonzaga, is now alone atop the WCC standings. 

San Diego struck for three runs in the first inning, six runs in the fourth, two runs in both the fifth and sixth, and six runs in the eighth to compile its most productive offensive performance of the season thus far. In total, the Torero bats recorded seven doubles and three home runs, including the first longball of Gabe D'Arcy's college career.

The Toreros' tour de force at the plate on Sunday marked San Diego's largest margin of victory and second most runs in a single game since Brock Ungricht took over as head coach prior to the 2022 season.

San Diego's dominance on Sunday afternoon also extended to the mound, with Austin Smith, Calvin Schapira, Dallin Harrison, and Drake Frize teaming up to toss a combined two-hitter while striking out 14 and walking just three batters. 

With the victory, San Diego has reached 30 wins with eight regular season games remaining on its 2024 schedule, making it the first time it has reached this mark before the month of May since 2014. 

ANOTHER OFFENSIVE ONSLAUGHT

• San Diego got the scoring started early in the bottom of the first, when Jakob Christian and Austin Smith knocked a pair of RBI doubles, scoring two runs for USD.
• Dustin Allen continued the rally with an RBI single to give the Toreros an 3-0 lead after the first inning of play. 
• A two-run homer from Jack Gurevitch, a pair of RBI doubles from Jack Costello and Will Worthington, and an RBI single from Justin DeCriscio allowed USD to add six runs in the fourth inning, extending its lead to 9-0 after the fourth frame.
• The Toreros added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth to make it 11-0 with an RBI sacrifice fly from Costello and an RBI single from DeCriscio. 
• Peraza hammered the third pitch he saw in the sixth inning for a two-run shot to deep center field, lengthening the lead to 13–0. 
• An RBI wild pitch, a two-RBI double from Costello, and a two-run shot from D'Arcy pushed in six more runs for San Diego in the eighth inning, putting the finishing touches on a remarkable offensive performance while making it 19-0 in the home team's favor. 

A COMBINED TWO-HITTER ON THE MOUND

• Smith turned in five scoreless, one-hit innings in his second consecutive Sunday afternoon start, striking out seven and walking just two. 
• He made way for Schapira who took over in the sixth and pitched a pair of scoreless innings while striking out three and walking one. 
• Harrison and Frize sealed the win with scoreless eighth and ninth innings, striking out a combined four and walking none.

TORERO TIDBITS

• D'Arcy's eighth-inning three-run shot is the first home run of his college career. 
• Eight different Torero hitters recorded multi-hit games in Sunday's victory. 
• Costello's four RBIs are tied for his season high. With his 2-for-5 mark from the plate, he has now hit safely in seven consecutive games. 
• Twenty-one hits is the most the Toreros have recorded in a single game since March 27th 2021, when it defeated Pacific 15-3. 
• DeCriscio was 3-for-4 from the plate, giving him a 7-for-10 mark in the series against Gonzaga. 
• After his eight-shutout-inning shutout performance at Pepperdine last weekend, Smith has now turned in back-to-back scoreless starts of five innings or more on the mound. 

UP NEXT
The Toreros are back in action on Tuesday night, when they remain at home to host UC Irvine for a midweek non-conference matchup at Fowler Park. First pitch against the Anteaters is set for 6:05 p.m.