will worthington walk-off vs. uc san diego - credit thomas christensen
Thomas Christensen
8
UC San Diego UCSD 26-20
9
Winner San Diego USD 34-13
UC San Diego UCSD
26-20
8
Final
9
San Diego USD
34-13
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 R H E
UC San Diego UCSD 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 8 12 0
San Diego USD 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 9 14 0

W: Thurman, Conner (4-0) L: Martinez, Izaak (4-3)

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

Refused to Lose: Toreros Rally for Walk-Off Win Over UC San Diego

Worthington delivered 13th-inning game-winning single after Thurman set forth legendary performance on the mound

SAN DIEGO — Three scoreless frames on the mound in extra innings from redshirt senior Conner Thurman set the scene for fellow senior and team captain Will Worthington's  walk-off single in the bottom of the 13th, giving San Diego baseball (34-13, 17-4 WCC) a thrilling 9-8 victory over crosstown rival UC San Diego (26-20, 13-11 Big West) in its final home game of 2024.

The Toreros jumped out to an early 7-0 lead after the first two frames of play, but UC San Diego scored in the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, before plating four more in the top of the ninth to take an 8-7 lead.

But after Jack Gurevitch hammered a game-tying solo shot on the fourth pitch of the bottom of the ninth, San Diego was headed to extra innings at Fowler Park for the second time in less than a week. 

Chase Minor pitched a scoreless tenth inning for the Toreros before handing things over to Thurman, who pitched three memorable scoreless frames in extras, working his way out of a bases-loaded jam in both the twelfth and thirteenth frames — including an inning-ending double-play in the twelfth — to give the San Diego bats the chance they needed to secure the win in the bottom of the thirteenth.

After Gurevitch drew a clutch walk in the top of the thirteenth and was able to advance to third base on a wild pitch and a ground-out, team-captain Will Worthington stepped up to the plate in his final at-bat in Fowler Park and delivered the game's finishing blow by slapping a bouncing RBI single back up the middle into center field, past the mound and through the Tritons' drawn-in infield to earn his team an unforgettable 9-8 win.

HOW IT HAPPENED 
  • USD struck first with an RBI single from Jakob Christian, a bases-loaded RBI walk from Jack Costello, and an RBI sacrifice fly from Gurevitch, giving it an early 3-0 lead after the first inning of play. 
  • After the Toreros loaded the bases again in the bottom of the second, Austin Smith and Costello knocked a pair of two-RBI doubles down the left field line and to right-center, adding four more runs to extend their lead to 7-0. 
  • UCSD scored a run in the top of the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings with a trio of solo home runs and an RBI sacrifice fly, to make it 7-4.  
  • The Tritons took the lead in the top of the ninth inning by scoring four runs with a bases-loaded RBI walk, and a three-RBI double, which moved the score to 8-7 in favor of UCSD heading into the bottom of the ninth inning.
  • Gurevitch stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth and blasted the third pitch he saw just inside of the right field foul pole to tie the game at eight and send Tuesday night's contest to extra innings. 
  • After neither team could find any momentum in extra innings, Gurevitch gave the Toreros a spark in the bottom of the thirteenth inning by drawing a well-timed walk, before advancing to third on a wild pitch and a groundout from Ariel Armas. 
  • Worthington then stepped up to the plate and sent a single up the middle to drive in Gurevitch from third and walk it off for San Diego in the bottom of the thirteenth inning.
ON THE MOUND
  • Ryan Kysar got the start on the mound for the Toreros and turned in five strong innings, surrendering three runs on four hits, while striking out three and walking just one. 
  • Nick Suspenzi and Vaughn Mauterer teamed up to pitch the next three innings, giving up just one run on two combined hits, while striking out three and walking one. 
  • Minor was first out of the bullpen for San Diego in extra innings, and kept the Tritons off the board in the tenth inning.
  • Thurman was next out of the bullpen for USD, and turned in his most memorable performance to date as a Torero, throwing three electric scoreless innings that saw him work out of a bases-loaded jam in back-to-back innings (the 12th and 13th), keeping UCSD off the board for the remainder of the game by striking out four and walking just two. 
TORERO TIDBITS
  • Thurman picked up his fourth win of the season after his unrelenting extra-innings performance, moving his record to 4-0 in 2024.
  • Including his game-tying homer in the bottom of the ninth, Gurevitch was 3-for-4 from the plate, with two runs scored and a pair of RBIs. 
  • With the win, San Diego finishes an undefeated 5-0 against cross-town rivals UCSD and SDSU in 2024, sweeping the season-series against the Tritons and Aztecs 3-0, and 2-0, respectively. 
  • Christian drew three total walks in Tuesday night's win. 
  • Costello recorded a team-high three RBIs.
  • With the victory, USD has now won four in a row and 23 of its last 26 contests. 
UP NEXT
The Toreros are back in action on Friday afternoon, when they travel to San Francisco to close out West Coast Conference play with a three-game set against USF.

First pitch in the series opener at Benedetti Diamond is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
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