LAS VEGAS —Top-seeded San Diego baseball (26-29, 19-5 WCC) staved off elimination from the 2025 WCC Tournament in emphatic fashion on Friday afternoon, defeating two-seed Gonzaga (26-29, 16-8 WCC) by a 16-7 margin at Las Vegas Ballpark.
The Toreros scored five times in both the first and this innings, once in both the fourth and sixth frames, and four times in the seventh to come out on top in the win-or-go-home matchup. USD's lead stretched to as many as 12 when it pulled ahead 16-4 thanks to two home runs from
Jack Gurevitch and a longball apiece from
Rex Watson and
AJ Anzai.
Gurevitch's four-hit, four-RBI performance was completed by a five-RBI afternoon from
Aden Howard, who helped San Diego establish its early lead with a bases-clearing double in the bottom of the first.
Graduate right-handed pitcher
Andrew Mosiello was key in USD's victory. After a 30-plus-pitch opening frame that saw him work out of a bases-loaded jam courtesy of a remarkable diving catch from Watson in right field, Mosiello settled in and provided a workmanlike six innings, scattering 11 hits and two walks while allowing four earned runs.
Fernando Palencia and
Jamie Robertson followed with scoreless outings in relief to close the game out.
NOTABLE
- Six Toreros had multiple hits in Friday's first game, including three from Watson, Howard, and Austin Smith.
- Anzai's seventh-inning homer was of the pinch-hit variety, the first such longball of his college career.
- Ten different San Diego players scored a run against Gonzaga. Gurevitch, Watson, Adrian Beltre Jr., Nico Libed, and Isaiah Lane all scored more than once.
UP NEXT
The Toreros will play in another elimination game tonight against four-seed Loyola Marymount. First pitch will be set for approximately 9:00 p.m.
