connor meidroth celebrates walk-off win over ucsd - 4_21_26 - credit thomas christensen
Thomas Christensen
5
UC San Diego UCSD 16-20, 12-6 The Big West
6
Winner San Diego USD 15-23, 7-8 West Coast Conference
UC San Diego UCSD
16-20, 12-6 The Big West
5
Final
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San Diego USD
15-23, 7-8 West Coast Conference
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
UC San Diego UCSD 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 1 0 0 5 6 1
San Diego USD 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 6 12 3

W: Edwards, Jagger (1-1) L: Villar, Jake (0-3)

Game Recap: Baseball | | By Breven Honda | Freelance Writer

Connor Meidroth Delivers Toreros' Second Straight Walk-Off Win

San Diego erases another late deficit to beat crosstown rival UC San Diego 6-5 in 10 innings at Fowler Park on Tuesday night

SAN DIEGO — Two months ago, San Diego baseball was bested in extra innings at crosstown rival UC San Diego, falling 8-7. 

On Tuesday night, the Toreros (15-23, 7-8 WCC) returned the favor in the back half of the home-and-home series with a walk-off win of their own. Connor Meidroth lined a two-out base hit up the middle in the bottom of the 10th, scoring Andrew Gauna to cap off a 6-5 victory over the Tritons (16-20, 12-6 Big West) at Fowler Park.

"I wanted to stay short, not try to do too much and get (Gauna) to score," said Meidroth, who notched two hits and his seventh multi-hit performance of 2026 on Tuesday. "Hitting is hard, and it's hard to find a hit, so I wasn't trying to get a hit. I was just trying to put it in play and hope for the best, and obviously the best came out of it."

Gauna, who was the Toreros' walk-off hero on Sunday afternoon, started the bottom of the 10th with a double down the right field line for his first hit of the night and moved to third base on a bunt from Jayden Lobliner ahead of scoring the winning run. 

Jagger Edwards, who collected his first win in a Torero uniform, had to work his way out of trouble in the top of the 10th. The graduate southpaw allowed a walk, a hit by pitch and committed a throwing error fielding a bunt before a couple of runs were saved by second baseman Diego Gonzalez, who deftly snared Edwards' overthrow while backing up first base to prevent UCSD from taking the lead.

With the bases loaded and zero outs, San Diego shortstop Cade Martinez got the first out of the inning on a force play, charging a sharply hit ground ball and making an accurate on-the-run throw to cut down the lead runner at the plate. Edwards followed with two clutch strikeouts to end the threat, the first of which came on the winning side of a 12-pitch at bat. 

"There's really no better feeling," Edwards said of his inning-ending strikeout. "I kind of let it all out right there. It was just cool for the whole team."
 
A couple of innings before the heroics began, Gonzalez crushed a game-tying two-run homer into the trees beyond Fowler Park's right-center field wall to knot the score at 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth.

"That ball was crushed, and it kind of just takes that weight off your shoulders," Meidroth said of Gonzalez's blast. "You're obviously trying to get on base and give it to the next guy, but having someone do that, it's pretty awesome." 

Nate DeSchryver was the first of eight pitchers to take the hill for San Diego on Tuesday, throwing two shutout frames. Aídan Gonzalez went the next two innings. Despite allowing a run in the fourth inning, he capped off his outing with a thrilling double play as left fielder Gage Mestas caught a fly ball and threw a runner out at home as he attempted to tag up.

Kyle Bade and Christian Garcia took the next two innings before Reece Bueno and Lucas Shannon combined to work the seventh. Drake Frize threw the eighth and the ninth before Edwards worked a scoreless 10th. 

"It's like a 'Pass the torch' mentality, collect outs," head coach Brock Ungricht said of his team's approach on the mound on Tuesday. "Doesn't have to be long stints. And if we can change the momentum a little bit, it allows our guys to not to have to look too far ahead. (They) can have (their) standard and expectation be, 'Let me get my inning, get out of there and pass it to the next guy and let him do his job.'" 

NOTABLE 
  • San Diego moves to 13-1 all time vs. UC San Diego. 
  • Tuesday marked the fourth straight game and fifth out of the last six contests between the two schools that has been decided in walk-off fashion.
  • Meidroth notched San Diego's third walk-off of 2026 and second in as many games. 
  • Edwards, who transferred from Columbia University before the 2026 season, recorded his first win in a Torero uniform.
  • Jayden Lobliner, who started at first base for the first time since the second game of the doubleheader at Charlotte (February 14), prevented two throwing errors from his infielders with picks at first base in the fifth and eighth innings. 
  • San Diego used five of its nine freshmen – Greer, Shannon, Gonzalez, Garcia and Phoenix Brant – in the midweek matchup. 
  • Greer made his third start of the season behind the plate in Tuesday's midweek against the Tritons. 
  • Gonzalez, who made his second start in the No. 5 spot in the lineup and first since USD hosted CSU Fullerton (March 24), hit a game-tying home run in the eighth inning for his fifth of the season and third in his last two games.
    • Gonzalez is one five USD players with five or more home runs and is tied for third in that statistical category with Gauna and Gabe Springer.  
  • Mestas, who made his fifth start of the season in left field and first since the second game of the doubleheader at Cal (March 7), recorded USD's second straight game with an outfield assist after Gauna had one on Sunday. Both came in the fourth inning of their respective contests. 
  • Moran made his third start of the season in right field after doing so in the series opener against Seattle U on Friday and also against CSU Fullerton (March 24). 
  • Aidan Gonzalez went a season-long two innings. It is his longest outing since going 2.2 against St. Mary's (CA) last year during the WCC Tournament (May 24, 2025).
UP NEXT
San Diego will continue its seven-game homestand by resuming West Coast Conference play against Saint Mary's this weekend. First pitch between the Toreros and the Gaels in the series opener on Friday night is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Fowler Park.
 
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