USD Toreros
USD Toreros Baseball
 
Toreros Prep for Another Busy Week
USD will play five games in six days this week.

Chris Engell.
 
Chris Engell.
  

March 2, 2009

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ON DECK: The 11th-ranked University of San Diego baseball team (6-3) has another busy week ahead of them. The Toreros will host Western Carolina University on Tuesday in a 2 p.m. game The Toreros will then play a four-game home and home series with cross-town rival San Diego State University from Thursday through Sunday. Thursday's and Saturday's games will be played at Cunningham Stadium, with Thursday beginning at 3 p.m. and Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. Friday's and Sunday's games will be played at Tony Gwynn Stadium with Friday's game to begin at 6 p.m. and Sunday's to begin at 1 p.m.

SCOUTING THE CATAMOUNTS: Western Carolina enters the game with an overall record of 5-1 after taking two-of-three against USC this past week. The Catamount offense is led by Ross Heffley, who is hitting .500 with 11 hits, three doubles, one home run and eight RBI. The starting pitcher against the Toreros has yet to be determined, but Corey Martin leads the pitching rotation for WCU, as he has a 0.82 ERA through 11.0 innings of work this season. The Catamounts are under the direction of second-year head coach Bobby Moranda. During his time in Cullowhee, N.C, Moranda has posted an overall record of 34-29.

SCOUTING THE AZTECS: San Diego State enters the week with an overall record of 4-4 after going 2-3 this past week. SDSU recorded wins against Pacific and Nevada, and dropped games to Pacific, Cal State Fullerton and Kansas State this past week. The Aztec offense is led by Mitch Blackburn and Pat Colwell, who each have a team-leading 10 hits with Blackburn having 12 RBI and Colwell adding in 10 RBI. On the mound, SDSU is led by junior All-American right-hander Stephen Strasburg, who is 2-0 with a 1.46 ERA and an impressive 27 strikeouts. The Aztecs are under the direction of seventh-year head coach Tony Gwynn. During his time in San Diego, Gwynn has posted an overall record of 177-200.

THE POLLS: The University of San Diego baseball team held steady at No. 11 in the latest Baseball America top-25 poll for the second consecutive week. The Toreros also dropped two spots to No. 16 in the latest Rival.com top-25 poll, and dropped three spots to No. 30 in the latest Collegiate baseball top-30 poll. Neither San Diego State or Western Carolina are ranked in any of the top-25 polls.

DENAULT PICKS UP A PAIR: Senior right-handed pitcher Scott Denault has looked solid through the first nine games of the season and picked up a pair of wins this past week. DeNault was credited with two wins on Saturday as USD defeated both Kansas State and Nevada. DeNault pitched a total of five innings of relief and didn't allowed a single run to cross the plate. On the season, DeNault is now 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA.

WHAT'S YOUR ENGELL?: Junior second baseman Chris Engell has made quite an impression in his first nine games as a Torero. This past week, Engell went 9-for-21 with one double, five RBI and four runs scored. Engell had a key hit in USD's come-from-behind win over Nevada on Saturday. Engell hit an RBI single on the ninth inning, which scored the tying run. He then represented the winning run in that game. He is hitting .391 with nine hits, one double and five RBI.

BLAIR K'S EIGHT: Sophomore right-hander Kyle Blair looked solid in Saturday's win over Kansas State, as he kept the Wildcat batters off balance, by scattering two hits and striking out a season-high eight batters. On the season, Blair is 1-0 with a 4.05 ERA and has a team-leading 18 strikeouts.

CHATWOOD BEGINS SEASON SOLID: Junior infielder Steven Chatwood has began the season with a bang. Chatwood played a huge role in USD posting a 4-2 record this past week, as he went 7-for-16 with one double and one RBI, while rotating between the catcher and designated hitter positions. Chatwood is currently USD's third leading hitter with his .381 batting average, eight hits, two doubles and one RBI.

BACK-TO-BACK WALK OFF'S: In both of Saturday's wins, USD won in the exact same fashion, RBI walk-off singles. In the first game against Kansas State, Victor Sanchez stepped up to the plate and hit a RBI single to left field, then in game two against Nevada, USD rallied to score two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to claim the win and it was Zach Walters' turn, as he hit an RBI single to left center field.

SANCHEZ NAMED A PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN: Sophomore third baseman Victor Sanchez of the University of San Diego baseball team has been named third-team preseason All-American by Baseball America. Sanchez, a 6-2 sophomore from Norwalk, Calif., is coming off a freshman campaign in which he set the new USD freshman home run record with 12, while hitting .268 with 59 hits, 12 doubles and one triple. Sanchez played a huge role in helping USD set a program record 44 wins, wining its second consecutive West Coast Conference championship and reaching the Long Beach Regional championship game.

CAN YOU HEAR ME?: Fans can catch all home games as well as select road games live on USDToreros.com. All of this week's games will be live on USDToreros.com with the voice of the Toreros Jack Murray will bring fans all the live play-by-play action.

2009 GAMETRACKER AVAILABLE: All of San Diego's home games, and select road games can be followed live via Gametracker on the Toreros athletic web site at www.usdtoreros.com. Gametracker is a service of CBS College Sports, the official web provider for San Diego athletics, and is a real time update of the action.

THREE TOREROS HIGHLIGHT BROOKS WALLACE AWARD WATCH LIST: Junior All-American closer AJ Griffin along with sophomore right-hander Kyle Blair and sophomore lefty Sammy Solis highlight the list of players named to the pre-season release of the 2009 Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award Watch List. The Wallace Award is presented annually to the nation's top collegiate baseball player in conjunction with the College Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. The 2009 award banquet will be at 7 p.m., Thursday, July 2, in the United Spirit Arena on the campus of Texas Tech University. Griffin, a 2008 first-team All-WCC selection, Louisville Slugger All-American and Team USA member, posted an overall record of 1-1 with a 1.96 ERA and tied the school record for single-season saves with 14. With the 14 saves, Griffin became the all-time leader in career saves at USD with 25. Blair, a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American, posted an 8-4 record, 3.86 ERA and fanned a USD freshman record 99 batters. Blair helped lead the Toreros into the championship game of the Long Beach Regional. Blair set a new program record for single-game strikeouts with 15 against Hawaii - Hilo. Solis, a 6-5 freshman from Litchfield Park, Ariz. and a WCC All-Freshman team member, posted a 3-1 overall record with a 3.83 ERA. In West Coast Conference action, Solis was 1-0 with a 4.42 ERA in six appearances.

TOREROS TABBED AS WCC CO-FAVORIATES: San Diego and Pepperdine were picked as favorites to win this year's WCC regular season title in the 2009 preseason baseball poll, as voted on by the head coaches in the conference. The Toreros and Waves have already been receiving several preseason accolades by several publications as San Diego has been ranked as high as No. 11 by Baseball America, while Pepperdine was ranked No. 17 in the same poll. San Diego and Pepperdine both received 45 points, with the Toreros receiving four first place votes to three for the Waves. Santa Clara, which has received votes in several preseason publications, was picked to finish third with 35 points. Gonzaga received the last remaining first place vote, and received 30 points, to come in at fourth place, edging out San Francisco, which received 26 points, for fifth place. Rounding out this year's poll are Loyola Marymount, with 20 points, Saint Mary's, with 14 points, and Portland, with nine points.

TORERO SKIPPER Rich Hill: San Diego's Rich Hill has built the USD Toreros into one of the most successful Division I baseball programs on the West Coast. The 2009 spring season will be Hill's 22nd year as a head coach at the collegiate level, and 11th at USD, having enjoyed 19 winning seasons in 21 years. Since taking over at USD in 1999, Hill has been remarkable in leading the Toreros to 11 consecutive winning campaigns, rewriting the school record book en route to claiming back-to-back West Coast Conference Championship titles in 2002 and 2003 and again in 2007 and 2008. Under his leadership San Diego has averaged 34 wins per season, including winning a school record 44 games in 2008, a year in which Hill was honored by his peers as the WCC of the Year. In 2007, Hill led USD to its highest national ranking in program history at No. 4, as well as USD's first-ever national seed in the NCAA Regionals. In 2008, Hill guided the Torero into the championship game of the Long Beach Regional, marking the first time USD had reached that game in a NCAA Division I Regional.

GRIFFIN HIGHLIGHTS GOLDEN SPIKES WATCH LIST: USA Baseball announced its preseason Golden Spikes Award Watch List Tuesday, marking the organization's first step toward identifying the top player in college baseball. Highlighting this list is the University of San Diego's ace closer AJ Griffin. Griffin, a 2008 first-team All-West Coast Conference selection, a 2008 Louisville Slugger All-American, Team USA member, and a first-team preseason All-American by the NCBA, posted an overall record of 1-1 with a 1.96 ERA and set the school record for single-season saves with 14 a year ago while helping lead the Toreros to their second consecutive West Coast Conference championship and its third straight trip to the NCAA Regionals. With the 14 saves, Griffin became the all-time leader in career saves at USD with 25.