USD Toreros
USD Toreros Baseball
 
First Place Toreros Prep for Crucial Week
USD will host UC Riverside Tuesday before heading to L.A. to take on second place LMU in pivotal WCC series.

Sean Nicol was named the WCC Co-Player of the Week.
 
Sean Nicol was named the WCC Co-Player of the Week.
  

April 27, 2009

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ON DECK: The University of San Diego baseball team (27-17, 10-5 WCC) will host UC Riverside on Tuesday in a 3 p.m. non-conference game before hitting the road for a crucial West Coast Conference series with second place Loyola Marymount University. All three games this weekend will be in Los Angeles at Paige Stadium. Friday's game is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. and both Saturday's and Sunday's games will begin at 1 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT: The Toreros posted a 2-2 record this past week, dropping a 8-5 decision to No. 9 Cal State Fullerton, then taking two-of three against the University of Portland to remain in a tie for first place in the WCC. In Tuesday's 8-5 loss, Chris Engell led the way as he went 2-for-4 with one home run and two RBI. Brian Farris also had a solid day as he went 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI. In Friday's 12-4 loss to the Pilots, James Meador led the way, as he went 3-for-5 with one home run and three RBI. The Toreros then bounced back with a 13-3 win on Saturday, and in this game, Bryan Haar led the way as he went 3-for-5 with a double, a home run and five RBI. Zach Walters also had a good day at the plate, as he went 3-for-4 with a two doubles and Engell was the third player with three hits, as he went 3-for-5 with one triple and one RBI. Meador went 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBI. In Sunday's 17-7 win, the Toreros recorded 12 extra base hits. Sean Nicol led the USD offense as he went an impressive 4-for-5 with three doubles, one home run and five RBI. Austin Green also looked impressive as he went 2-for-2 with two home runs and three RBI, while Walters, Engell, Tony Strazzara and Meador all recorded multiple hits on the day.

SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS: UC Riverside enters the game with an overall record of 24-13 after posting a 4-0 record this past week, defeating UCLA on Tuesday 17-6, then sweeping Cal State Northridge in conference action. The Highlanders lead the all-time series at 53-48-2, including coming from behind to defeat USD 8-7 on Mar. 31 of this year. The UCR offense is led by Michael Hur, who has a team-leading .365 batting average, to go along with 47 hits, nine doubles, six home runs and 35 RBI. On the mound, the Toreros will face Ryan Platt, who is 2-0 with a 5.34 ERA. The Highlanders are under the direction of fifth-year head coach Doug Smith, During his tenure at Riverside, Smith has posted an overall record of 140-119.

SCOUTING THE LIONS: Loyola Marymount University enters the week with an overall record of 25-21 and a 9-6 mark in the WCC, one game behind USD and Gonzaga for first place, after dropping two-of-three this past weekend to Saint Mary's College. The Lions lead the all-time series between the two at 81-77-1, but the Toreros have won the last seven straight games against the Lions, and eight of the last nine. Offensively, the Lions are led by junior outfielder Angelo Songco, who is hitting a team-best .351 with 60 hits, 14 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs and 52 RBI. On the mound, the Lions are led by senior right-hander Lee Roberts, who is 6-0 with a 2.96 ERA. The Lions are under the direction of first-year head coach Jason Gill.

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.

Sean Nicol NAMED WCC CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Senior shortstop Sean Nicol of the University of San Diego baseball team has been named the West Coast Conference Co-Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday morning. Nicol, a 5-11 senior from Scottsdale, Ariz., helped lead the Toreros to a 2-2 record, and helped keep the Toreros in a tie for first place in the WCC. For the week, Nicol went 8-for-18 (.444) with five doubles, two home runs and nine RBI, including going 4-for-5 with three doubles, one home run and five RBI sin Sunday's series clinching win over the University of Portland. Nicol has now run his season-high hit streak to 15 games. On the season, he has moved his batting average up to .369 with 65 hits, 16 doubles, six home runs and 32 RBI.

WHO'S HOT FOR THE TOREROS?: Junior outfielder James Meador has been red hot offensively for the Toreros, as he has now moved his batting average up to .394 after his 7-for-17, one double, two home run and nine RBI performance this past week. Meador's .394 batting average and 67 hits ties him for first in the WCC in these categories. The .394 batting average currently ties him for seventh best single-season batting average at USD, with the record being held by Jim Fiorenza at .439, set back in 1969.

NICOL GOING STREAKING: Senior shortstop Sean Nicol has been on an offensive tear lately as well and he is currently riding a season-high 15-game hit streak. During this stretch, Nicol has gone 26-for-71 (.344) with eight doubles, five home runs and 16 RBI. On the season, Nicol is hitting .369 with 65 hits, 16 doubles, two triples, six home runs, 32 RBI and leads the team with 19 stolen bases.

MAKING THEM COUNT: Freshman first baseman Bryan Haar isn't leading the team in hits, nor is he leading the team in RBI, but he makes almost all of his hits count. Haar has recorded 25 hits on the season, and with those 25 hits, he has driven in 30 runs. Likewise, freshman outfielder Jon Hotta has recorded 23 hits and driven across 18 runs with those hits.

WHERE WE STAND: With two weeks to go in the WCC regular season, the Toreros are currently tied for first place with Gonzaga atop the WCC standings at 10-5. LMU sits one game behind at 9-6 and San Francisco is two games behind at 8-7. The Toreros will play LMU this weekend, then host San Francisco the weekend after to try and claim their third consecutive WCC crown. The Bulldogs and Lions will square off on the last weekend of the season, which should determine who not only wins the WCC regular-season crown, but who gets to host the WCC Championship series. USD has hosted the championship series each of the last two years, and have won the WCC Championship series all four times they have played in it.

CAN YOU HEAR ME?: Fans can catch all home games as well as select road games live on USDToreros.com. All four 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 and John Cunningham providing color commentary for the three games this weekend against Loyola Marymount.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: All USD home games, as well as select road games, will be streamed live via video on the athletics department website. Fans can watch all the action live from the comfort of their home by logging onto usdtoreros.com. Simply go to the baseball schedule page and click on the WATCH link to view that days game.

GRIFFIN HIGHLIGHTS STOPPER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST: Junior All-American AJ Griffin of the University of San Diego baseball team has been named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Midseason Stopper of the Year Watch List. Forty-five relief pitchers are included on the midseason watch list for the fifth annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, the association announced Thursday. The award is given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I college baseball. Griffin owns a 3.47 ERA with a 7-2 record and three saves in 2009. He has posted 64 strikeouts in 57.0 innings and has held hitters to a .244 batting average in 12 appearances. The junior right-hander out of El Cajon, Calif. already owns the USD career saves record at 28 and single-season record of 14 set last season.

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.