CHARLOTTE, NC – Opening Day brings optimism into the air as a new season arrives. And  for San Diego Baseball, coming off its second straight West Coast Conference Regular Season Championship last year, there's plenty to look forward to.

For the first time in head coach Brock Ungricht's tenure, San Diego opened the season on the East Coast for a three-game series against Charlotte at Hayes Stadium beginning on Friday. 

And the Toreros (1-0, 0-0 WCC), who were picked to win the WCC in the preseason coaches poll, raced to a 7-4 win over the 49ers (0-1, 0-0 American) to kick off their 2026 campaign behind strong performances on the mound from Diego Gutierrez, Fernando Palencia, and Hayden Cody and a three-hit, two-RBI performance from Adrian Beltre Jr. 

Beltre Jr. was also part of a sixth-inning triple play, just the third in program history. 

In Palencia's second inning of work, he ran into some trouble with USD out to a 7-2 lead in the sixth. He allowed a single, a walk and a hit by pitch to load the bases before his defense came up clutch. Shortstop Gabe Springer started a 6-4-5 triple play by catching a sinking line drive and throwing the ball to Beltre at second base, who threw across his body back to Vincent Venverloh at third base. Palencia went on to earn the win after getting out of the jam.

Gutierrez, who made his first start in a Torero uniform, threw four innings and allowed two runs on just one hit while striking out four 49ers and walking three. 

After allowing both runs on a homer in the first inning, the Cal State Northridge transfer settled in, allowing just one walk over his final three innings of work. 

Palencia got the next seven outs, including the first out of the eighth inning, then Hayden Cody recorded the final five outs to give San Diego its first victory of the season. 

Right from the start, USD opened the scoring. In the first inning, CJ Moran and Beltre walked before Springer was hit by a pitch to load the bases and no one out. Then Aden Howard recorded an RBI single to left field, scoring Moran. A wild pitch followed, and moved everyone up 90 feet with Beltre touching home. 

To cap off San Diego's first offensive frame of 2026, Howard scored the third run off a Charlotte error. 

The Toreros added another run in the second. Springer pulled a ball inside the right field line for an RBI double, scoring Beltre. 

As Palencia quieted the 49ers' bats, San Diego tacked on two more runs in the fifth and another in the sixth. With the bases loaded and two outs, Beltre came up clutch with a two-RBI single as Jayden Lobliner and Tanner Kern came home.  

The 49ers, who compete in the American Conference, were led by Cody Gunderson. He went 2-for-3 with two home runs and three RBI. On the mound, Taylor Joseph recorded eight of his 10 outs by the strikeout. 

San Diego and Charlotte wrap up their three-game series tomorrow with a doubleheader due to inclement weather being forecasted for Sunday, pushing the third game of the series up to Saturday. The first game between the Toreros and the 49ers begins at 10 a.m. Pacific Standard time. The second and final game of the series will begin 30 minutes after game one. Both games of the doubleheader will be streamed live on ESPN+. 

NOTABLE

• Friday marked the first meeting between the two schools
• San Diego turned its third triple play in program history in the sixth inning and first since May 11, 2024 against San Francisco. 
• Adrian Beltre Jr., who was named to the All-WCC Freshman Team last year, opened his season with a bang, going 3-for-4 with two RBI. It is the third time in his collegiate career that he has had a three-hit game. 
• Catcher Jayden Lobliner, who was named to the WCC Preseason Team went 1-for-4 as seven of the nine hitters in USD's lineup recorded at least one hit and everyone got on base at least once.
• Although leadoff hitter CJ Moran went 0-for-2, he registered four walks and a run scored.  
• As a whole, the San Diego offense totaled nine hits and eighth base on balls despite leaving 14 runners on base. 
• Five different Toreros – Moran, Howard, Lobliner, Andrew Gauna, and Gage Mestas – recorded a stolen base.