SAN DIEGO — San Diego baseball (3-16, 0-0 WCC) dropped both games of its doubleheader with Columbia (3-10, 0-0 Ivy League) on Sunday, falling to the Lions by scores of 9-8 and 19-10 at Fowler Park. The two teams played twice on Sunday after Friday night's series opener was postponed due to rain.

GAME ONE: COLUMBIA 9, SAN DIEGO 8

USD jumped out to an early lead in game one but could not hold on after Columbia erupted for seven runs in the last four innings of play to overtake the Toreros by a 9-8 margin.

A go-ahead grand slam from true freshman Rex Watson had USD up 6-2 after the fifth inning, but three runs in the sixth and four runs in the eighth gave the Lions a late lead that they were able to sustain through a pair of comeback attempts from San Diego in the final two frames.   

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Columbia jumped ahead in the top of the first inning with a sacrifice fly.
• The Toreros responded in the bottom of the second to take a one-run lead of their own when Isaiah Lane ripped a two-RBI triple off the right-center field wall, plating Ryan Ward and Gabe D'Arcy — who both reached on walks — to make it 2-1 USD. 
• The Lions knotted the score up at 2-2 in the top of the third with yet another sacrifice fly. 
• Walks from Lane, Gurevitch, and pinch-hitter AJ Anzai loaded the bases for San Diego in the bottom of the fifth inning, which set the scene for Watson to crush his first homer of the season and put the Toreros in front by a 6-2 margin. 
• Two solo home runs and an RBI fielders' choice brought Columbia back within one, 6-5, in the sixth. 
• A double steal and a Columbia throwing error in the bottom of the seventh allowed both Watson and Smith to dash home and score from first and second base, respectively, expanding the Torero advantage to 8-5.
• In an increasingly back-and-forth contest, the Lions responded yet again in the top of the eighth inning by scoring four runs on a wild pitch, an RBI groundout, and an RBI single to take a 9-8 lead that they did not relinquish.   

ON THE MOUND

• Cal Scolari got the start on the mound for San Diego in game one of its Sunday doubleheader and turned in 5.1 innings, giving up five earned runs on four hits while walking three and striking out two. 
• Fernando Palencia (1.0 IP), Hayden Cody (1.0 IP), and Dallin Harrison (1.2) teamed up to close the game out on the mound for USD. 

TORERO TIDBITS

• Watson's fifth-inning grand slam was the Toreros' first of 2025 and the first longball of his young college career.
• Thirteen total batters had at least one plate appearance for the Toreros in game one of the doubleheader. 
• D'Arcy and Lane each recorded a triple for USD on Sunday afternoon, marking the first time the Toreros have recorded more than one triple in a game since April 8, 2023, when they did so at Gonzaga.

GAME TWO: COLUMBIA 19, SAN DIEGO 10 

Six runs from Columbia in the seventh and ninth innings secured a wire-to-wire victory for the Lions in game two.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Columbia was the first team to get on the board, and did so with a sacrifice fly in the top of the third inning to take a 1-0 lead. 
• The Lions scored four more runs in the top of the fourth with a solo home run, an RBI double, an unearned run off an error, and an RBI single, making it 5-0 in favor of Columbia. 
• USD responded in the bottom half of the frame when Austin Smith knocked an RBI triple to plate Jack Gurevitch, before he made it home via an RBI groundout from Rex Watson. 
• Columbia got two runs back in the top of the fifth inning with a two-RBI double. 
• A sacrifice fly from Smith to score Nico Libed in the bottom of the fifth cut the Lion lead to four at 7-3. 
• USD got another run back in the bottom of the sixth inning when the Columbia pitcher threw a wild pitch, allowing Gabe D'Arcy — who reached base on a single up the middle— to sprint home and make it 7-4. `
• Three RBI singles and a two-run homer allowed the Lions to score six runs in the top of the seventh inning, extending their lead to 13-4. 
• Watson continued his successful day at the plate in the bottom of the frame, belting a three-RBI double over the Columbia centerfielder's head to plate Smith, Gurevitch, and Isaiah Lane and cut the Lions' lead to six at 13-7. 
• San Diego scored another run in the bottom of the eighth, when Smith reached on an error that drove in a run, making it 13-8. 
• Columbia scored six runs in the top of the ninth to give it a 19-8 lead.
• Isaiah Lane crushed a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to cut the lead to 19-10, but the Toreros got no closer. 

ON THE MOUND

• Andrew Mosiello got the start on the mound in the second game of the doubleheader and turned in four innings, surrendering five runs (three earned) on six hits, while striking out three and walking one. 
• True freshman Jack Giordano was next for San Diego and threw one inning, giving up two runs on just one hit.  
• Aidan Gonzalez and Jack McWilliams finished the game on the mound for the Toreros. 

TORERO TIDBITS

• Gonzalez struck out the side in the top of the sixth inning. 
• McWilliams tallied four strikeouts for the Toreros in relief. 
• Bryant Viskovich made his first start and first appearance as a Torero after missing the entirety of 2024 due to injury. He earned the first hit of his collegiate career with a single through the left side in the bottom of the fourth inning. 
• Isaiah Lane hit his third home run of the season in the bottom of the ninth inning to extend his hit streak to eight games. He has now hit safely in 14 of his first 18 games as a Torero, a span that's included seven multi-hit performances.

UP NEXT
The Toreros will look to split the series at two games apiece tomorrow afternoon in their finale with Columbia. First pitch at Fowler Park is set for 12:05 p.m.