Baseball hits postseason out of the park

Team wins first WCC Championship since 2013

TAYLOR NIELSEN / SPORTS EDITOR / THE USD VISTA

While most students packed up their dorm rooms and off-campus housing at the end of the spring semester, the University of San Diego baseball team packed their bags for a postseason appearance in Stockton, California. 

Every year following the end of regular season play, the West Coast Conference (WCC) hosts a championship tournament for the league’s highest ranking teams. The winner earns a coveted spot in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Regional Tournament. 

After a two-year break due to coronavirus restrictions, the WCC welcomed teams back to Banner Island Ballpark. The league expanded the tournament and invited the top six teams to compete, instead of the usual four. More teams present meant more games, specifically four days of back-to-back games from May 25-28.

The opening day consisted of two, single-elimination games between the four lowest ranked teams. Teams received their seed based on their final standing in regular season play. The Toreros finished their season at No. 3 and matched up to play the No. 6 seed, the University of San Francisco (USF). 

In a back-and-forth game against USF, the Toreros didn’t pull a definite lead until the bottom of the sixth, after they came back from trailing by three runs. They recorded six home runs during the game, two of which came from the WCC Player of the Year, junior Caleb Rickets. They finished the game ahead of USF and won 10-5, which sent USF home and propelled the Toreros to day two.  

In their first double- elimination game of the weekend, the Toreros faced No. 2 seed University of Portland (UP) on day two. The USD baseball team dominated over UP, ending the game with an impressive 22-8 lead. Seven USD players made it a multi-hit game, including Rickets, who recorded a third home run for the weekend. 

On day three, the USD baseball team made a statement,when they continued their winning streak against No. 1 seed Gonzaga. The USD baseball team came back in the bottom of the fourth after Gonzaga maintained an early 0-3 lead through the third inning. The Toreros tied up the game 3-3 and pulled forward 5-3 in the fifth inning. They maintained the two-run lead throughout the rest of the game and won against the top seed. 

After ending the third day undefeated (3-0), the USD baseball team awaited their opponent for the final day of the tournament. If they won the next game, they would take home the conference title. Their opponent would be a rematch against UP or Gonzaga. The decision would be the result of a single-elimination game at the end of day three.

On Saturday, May 28, the USD baseball team faced Gonzaga again, who had knocked UP out by winning 7-0 Friday night.  USD and Gonzaga’s second match of the weekend extended into two extra innings. The back-and-forth game came to a standstill when the two teams ended the tenth inning at a tie, 12-12. In the eleventh inning, Toreros Jack Costello and Cody Jefferis hit two homers and took the conference title for the USD baseball team. 

The 2022 USD baseball team brought home the second WCC Tournament win in program history which earned them an automatic bid for the program’s ninth NCAA appearance. The team returned home to await the announcement on which of the sixteen tournaments in the NCAA Division I regionals that they were placed in. 

On Monday, May 30, the team received the news at USD that they would play in the Corvallis Regional Tournament, hosted by Oregon State. 

 They headed up the coast for their first game against Vanderbilt and closed out the game with a one run lead of 3-2. 

In the second game, they faced the hosting team, Oregon State, for a chance to make it to the tournament’s championship game. 

However, the Toreros endured their first postseason loss, falling 3-12 to Oregon State. They headed to a single-elimination, redemption game where they faced Vanderbilt for the second time that weekend. After losing to USD the previous day, Vanderbilt packed a punch, and the Toreros were sent home after losing 4-14 in their final game of their 2022 season against Vanderbilt. 

While losses are always disappointing, the USD baseball team’s conference win and NCAA appearance was a comeback for the program as a whole.