April 8, 2009

Complete Baseball Release in PDF Format

ON DECK: The 21st-ranked University of San Diego baseball team (21-11, 6-0 WCC) will conclude a 10-day road trip this weekend, as they will look to extend its six-game WCC winning streak with a three-game series against Gonzaga in Spokane. Both Thursday's and Friday's games will begin at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday's game will have a 11:00 a.m. first pitch. USD is playing Thursday-Saturday instead of the usual Friday-Sunday in honor of the Easter Holiday this Sunday.

THE POLLS: San Diego posted a 4-1 record this past week and that moved them up two spots in both the NCBWA and USA Today top-25 polls. The Toreros also made their return to the Baseball America top-25 poll at No. 25 and moved up one spot in the latest Collegiate Baseball top-30 poll to No. 29. Gonzaga is not ranked in any of the top-25 polls.

LAST TIME OUT: The Toreros posted a 4-1 record this past week, dropping an 8-7 decision to No. 22 UC Riverside on Tuesday, before sweeping the Santa Clara Broncos over the weekend by a combined score of 53-21. In Tuesday's loss to the Highlanders, both Tony Strazzara and Jon Hotta went 3-for-5 with Strazzara driving in two to lead the offense. In Friday's 9-4 win over SCU, Kyle Blair went the distance on the mound, as he allowed four runs on 10 hits, while striking out eight. Offensively, Zach Walters and Strazzara led the way as they both went 2-for-4 with two RBI apiece. In Saturday's 22-10 blowout, James Meador led the way as he went 4-for-6 with three doubles and one RBI. All but one Torero that was sent to the plate recorded at least one hit in the game as USD recorded 22 hits. In Sunday's 22-5 win, USD as a team recorded a season-high 23 hits, as Walters led the way going 5-for-6 with one double. Sean Nicol also had a day to remember, as he went 3-for-7 with a pair of two-run homers and five RBI and Michael Lugo also had a huge day as he went 4-for-5 with one home run.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: Gonzaga enters the series with an overall record of 21-9 and are 4-2 in the WCC after splitting a pair of games with Washington on Monday and Tuesday and taking two-of-three against Pepperdine this past weekend. The GU offense is led by Drew Heid, who is hitting a team-leading .331 with 42 hits, four doubles, four triples, two home runs and 23 RBI. On the mound, Matt Fields leads the way as he is 4-1 with a 2.54 ERA and was named the WCC Pitcher of the Week this past week. The Zags are under the direction of sixth-year head coach Mark Mactoff. During his tenure in Spokane, Mactoff has posted an overall record of 165-134.

LAST 16 GAMES: Over the last 16 games, the Toreros have posted a 14-2 record and are currently riding a three-game winning streak. In these games, USD is hitting .362, while the Torero pitching staff is holding opponents to a .229 batting average. The San Diego pitching staff is bolstering a 3.19 ERA, while Torero bats have scorched opponent pitchers for a 9.29 ERA. During this stretch, two Toreros are hitting above .400, paced by James Meador's .476 (30-for-63) average. Zach Walters is the second Torero hitting above .400 with a .422 average (27-for-64).

WHO'S HOT FOR THE TOREROS: Sophomore outfielder Zach Walters has been red hot at the plate for the Toreros, as this past week he led the USD offense going 11-for-19 with one double, one triple and six RBI. James Meador has also been red hot for the Toreros, as he went 10-for-21 (.476) with six doubles and two RBI. Tony Strazzara also had a good week for the Toreros, as he went 9-for-17 with two doubles and seven RBI this past week.

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.

ABOUT THE RECORD: San Diego is currently 22-11 overall and 6-0 in the WCC. The 22-11 overall record is the exact same record the Toreros had a year ago, when they went on to post a program-best 44 win season and reached the championship game of the Long Beach Regional. The 6-0 mark in the WCC puts USD two games ahead of where they were last year at this point.

ABOUT THE SCORES: San Diego scored a combined 53 runs in the three-game sweep over Santa Clara this past week. The 53 runs is the most combined runs in a three-game series in program history, topping the previous record of 45 runs in a three-game sweep over San Francisco in the 2002 season.

WHERE DO THESE SCORES RANK IN USD HISTORY?: USD scored 22 runs in both Saturday's and Sunday's games, so where does this rank in USD history? The single-game record for team runs scored is 33 in a win against Cal Western on Mar. 26, 1960. The Toreros have scored 20 or more runs on 21 occasions since the programs inception in 1958, 13 of those in the Division I era and eight of those were during Rich Hills' tenure as head skipper of the team, which began back in 1999.

TOREROS ON A HIT PARADE: The Toreros offense has been on a tear over the last four games, as they have recorded 71 hits in just four games. In Saturday's win over Santa Clara, USD recorded 22 hits, and USD then topped that with a season-high 23-hit performance in Sunday's win over the Broncos. In fact, USD has recorded double digit hits in 11 of the last 12 games.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Several Toreros as well as the team itself hold lofty positions inside the West coast Conference statistics. USD leads the league as a team with a .322 batting average, they are second in slugging percentage at .459 and second in runs scored at 242. James Meador (.392) and Zach Waters (.391) are second and third in batting averages for the WCC,, while Meador is also fourth in hits with 49 followed by Sean Nicol with 47 hits for fifth most in the WCC.

TOREROS AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS: This season the Toreros have posted a 5-4 record against teams ranked in the top-25. The Toreros split a pair of games against, then No. 16, Oklahoma, went 1-2 against, then. No. 5 Rice, swept, then No. 12, Pepperdine and dropped a 8-7 decision to No. 22 UC Riverside this past Tuesday. USD will look to improve on that record next week when they host No. 5 UC Irvine in a Tuesday 3 p.m. game inside the friendly confines of Cunningham Stadium.

GOING STREAKING: San Diego is currently riding a six-game WCC winning streak after sweeping Santa Clara this past weekend. During this streak, the Toreros are hitting .356, while the Torero pitching staff is holding opponents to a .244 batting average. USD has four players hitting above .400 paced by James Meador's .500 (13-for-26) batting average. The Toreros will look to improve their winning streak this week as they travel to Spokane, Wash. to take on Gonzaga in a three-game WCC series.

HE'S BACK: Senior right-hander Matt Couch will made his return to the mound for the Toreros this past Tuesday vs. UC Riverside after a 12-month absence. Couch looked good as he allowed two runs, one earned, in 3.0 innings of work. Couch had been recovering from season-ending injury suffered early last season. Couch is a three-time All-WCC performer and was a key role in the Toreros making back-to-back NCAA Tournament runs in 2006 and 2007, as well as helping lead USD to the 2007 WCC championship. For his career, Couch is 23-11 with a 3.94 ERA.

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.

CAN YOU HEAR ME?: Fans can catch all home games as well as select road games live on USDToreros.com. Tuesday's game will be live on USDToreros.com with the voice of the Toreros Jack Murray will bring fans all the live play-by-play action and John Cunningham providing color commentary.

SOLIS OUT FOR SEASON: USD sophomore left-hander Sammy Solis suffered a season-ending injury after making two appearances this year. Solis will sit out the remainder of the season and aim to make a return in the start of the 2010 season. On the year, Solis is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA, while striking out 16 batters.

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.

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.

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.