San Diego Toreros (2-14, 0-0 WCC)  •  Columbia Lions (1-9, 0-0, Ivy League)

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

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SAN DIEGO — The Toreros (2-14, 0-0 WCC) are back in America's Finest City for the first time in 12 days this weekend, hosting Columbia (1-9, 0-0 Ivy League) for a four-game series at Fowler Park.

First pitch in the series opener on Friday night is set for 7:05 p.m., followed by a 5:05 p.m. start on Saturday, a 1:05 p.m. matchup on Sunday, and a 12:05 p.m. finale on Monday afternoon.

Braden Surprenant will have the call for games one, two, and three on ESPN+ (video) and USDToreros.com (audio). Monday's contest will be streamed live exclusively on ESPN+, with broadcast talent to be announced at a later date.

Live statistics for all four games will be available on USDToreros.com and StatBroadcast.

ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS COLUMBIA
• The Toreros are 8-1 against the Lions all-time, with the two teams' most recent meetings coming almost exactly eight years ago, when USD won back-to-back games against Columbia at Fowler Park by scores of 21-5 and 6-3 on March 15, 2016, and March 16, 2016.

• USD has won four games in a row versus the Lions dating back to March 16, 2012. All four of those victories have been in San Diego.

• San Diego's lone all-time loss to Columbia was back on March 16, 2012, when the Toreros were dealt a 6-2 defeat by CU at Cunningham Stadium.

A FAMILIAR FOE
• USD Director of Operations Josh Nicoloff played three seasons of baseball as an infielder at Columbia, where he earned an undergraduate degree in Political Science in 2021.

• Across 69 games with the Lions, Nicoloff batted .293 (67-for-229) with 11 doubles, three home runs, 30 RBIs, and 27 runs scored. He was named an All-Ivy League Honorable Mention in 2017.

• Nicoloff, a native of Ladera Ranch, California who is in his first year as part of the Toreros' staff, concluded his college career at Kansas State in 2022, where he started all 58 games for the Wildcats and was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week (March 22, 2022) and to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll (Fall 2021).

LAST TIME OUT
• The Toreros wrapped up a four-game road swing with a loss at No. 16 UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday evening, falling to the Gauchos by an 8-4 margin despite a clutch home run from redshirt junior outfielder Gabe D'Arcy.

• D'Arcy's sixth-inning three-run blast sailed high into the trees beyond Caesar Uyesaka Stadium's left-field wall. It cut UCSB's lead to 7-4 and got the Toreros back within striking distance before the Gauchos answered back with a solo homer in the eighth to put the game out of reach.

• San Diego was down by just two in the top of the third after Jack Gurevitch ripped an RBI triple deep into the right-field corner to plate Isaiah Lane. UC Santa Barbara responded almost immediately by scoring three times in the fourth and once in the fifth.

• Freshman right-hander Jack Giordano (0-1) got the start on the mound for USD and navigated through a challenging first frame before giving way to a quartet of San Diego relievers.

• First-year lefty Porter Rovin turned in the Toreros' longest outing of the day, throwing 3.1 innings to wrap up the game after entering with two outs in the bottom of the fifth.

OVER THE WEEKEND
• San Diego played at No. 8 Oregon State last weekend and tested the Beavers in all three matchups, but fell by scores of 11-3, 2-0, and 5-2 at Goss Stadium.

• OSU's two-run output against the Toreros on March 8 is the Beavers' lowest run total in any game so far this season.

SOME STIFF COMPETITION
• Each of USD's last four games prior to this weekend's series against Colombia were against Top-25 teams.

• Oregon State, at which San Diego played from March 7-9, was ranked No. 8 in the D1Baseball Top 25, while UC Santa Barbara, where the Toreros played on March 11, checked in at No. 16 in the same poll.

• In total, eight of USD's first 16 games in 2025 have been played against ranked opponents.

• San Diego took on a Top-25 opponent nine times across 56 total contests in 2024.

A LONG-AWAITED LONGBALL
• Gabe D'Arcy's home run at UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday was his first of 2025 and USD's first since March 1, when Isaiah Lane went yard twice on March 1 versus Cal State Bakersfield at Fowler Park.

• D'Arcy, who finished the evening 2-for-4, now has two career home runs at the college level.

• His lone previous longball came at Fowler Park in a 19-0 rout of Gonzaga on April 28, 2024.

DON'T LET GABE GET HOT
• His two hits against the Gauchos gave him his first multi-hit performance since May 24, 2023, when he went 3-for-5 in a WCC Tournament loss to Saint Mary's at Las Vegas Ballpark that marked the Toreros' final game of the season.

• D'Arcy hit safely in each of his last 10 games that year.

DANGEROUS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL
• D'Arcy's success against the Gauchos extended to defense as well; he threw behind a runner at first base to turn an inning-ending double play in the third after snaring a shallow fly ball in right field.

LIFE IN THE FAST LANE
• San Diego shortstop Isaiah Lane was 2-for-4 with a run scored and a walk on Tuesday at No. 16 UC Santa Barbara as he extended his hit streak to five games.

• He has hit safely in 11 of his first 15 games as a Torero, a span that's included six multi-hit performances.

TRIPLE THREAT
• Jack Gurevitch got the Toreros on the board on Tuesday evening by hammering an RBI triple

• He is one of four Toreros to record a triple in 2025, joining Lane, Jayden Lobliner, and Nico Libed.

• Gurevitch is batting a team-high .339 (21-for-62) this season, and also leads USD in RBIs (11) and home runs (four).

PATIENCE PAYS OFF
• Nico Libed drew his team-leading ninth walk of 2025 on Tuesday as part of a 1-for-3 performance.

• He also threw a Gaucho runner out trying to steal second base in the bottom of the third.

FOR STARTERS (PROBABLE)
FRIDAY: Senior left-hander Austin Smith (0-2, 7.43 ERA) will take the mound for USD in the series opener in what will mark his second start and fifth appearance of 2025, as well as the 17th start of his college career.

• Smith last pitched on March 8 at No. 8 Oregon State, firing 2.2 no-hit frames out of the bullpen while striking out three before surrendering a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning.

• His most recent start came in game three of the Toreros' season-opening series against No. 23 TCU (February 16), when he allowed seven runs on five hits across three innings while walking four and striking out five.

• A two-way player, Smith is batting .292 (19-for-65) so far in 2025 with eight runs scored, eight RBIs, a walk, two hit by pitches, and a stolen base.

• Smith is coming off a historic 2024 season for USD that saw him earn an All-WCC First Team nod, a WCC All-Tournament Team selection, an ABCA/Rawlings/NCBWA NCAA Division I Third Team All-American selection, an ABCA All-West Region First Team selection, a Finalist designation for the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award, a Semifinalist honor for the Dick Howser Trophy, and recognition as a San Diego Sports Association Amateur Star of the Year.

• This offseason he was named to the 2025 Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watchlist, a 2025 D1Baseball Preseason Second Team All-American, the 2025 D1Baseball Preseason WCC Player of the Year, and to the 2025 WCC Baseball Preseason Team.

• Smith was one of two USD pitchers to reach seven wins in 2024, as the San Diego native and Granite Hills High School alum went a perfect 7-0 with a 3.49 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP across 17 total appearances and nine starts.

• He recorded three saves in 56.2 total innings pitched (third most among USD players in 2024) while notching 49 strikeouts.

• Smith was one of two Toreros in 2024 to throw eight total innings in a single game without allowing a run (April 21 at Pepperdine).

• In addition to dominating on the mound, he also batted in every game of the 2024 season for the Toreros, slashing .314/.429/.471 with 11 doubles, seven home runs, 39 RBIs, 31 walks, 13 hit-by-pitches, and three stolen bases.

• On February 25, 2024 against Arizona, he recorded a go-ahead grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning, before making his way to the mound from left field to earn a four-out save.

SATURDAY: The Toreros' starter for game two of their series against Columbia has not yet been announced.

SUNDAY: Redshirt freshman righty Cal Scolari (1-2, 3.24 ERA) is scheduled to start for San Diego in game three.

• Scolari last pitched on Friday, March 7 at No. 8 Oregon State, when he gave up four runs on six hits across 3.2 innings while walking four and striking out four.

• Prior to this weekend, he had started each of the Toreros' first four Friday games in 2025.

• He shined in his collegiate debut in USD's season opener vs No. 23 TCU on February 14, striking out nine through five one-hit shutout innings. 

• Scolari was inactive for the entirety of his true freshman year at USD and his final year of high school while recovering from an arm injury.  He attended Bishop Manogue Catholic High School in Reno, Nevada, where he last pitched as a junior, posting a 2.50 ERA across 50.1 innings on the mound. 

• As a high school sophomore, he earned Second Team All-Region honors, followed by First Team All-Region honors as a junior

• Scolari was ranked the No. 7 player in Nevada and was one of Collegiate Baseball Newspapers' Top High-School Players in 2023

MONDAY: The Toreros' starter for game four of their series against Columbia has not yet been announced.