Toreros begin 2020 season

USD baseball is back and the Toreros are primed for another winning season

Chris Spiering / Sports Editor / The USD Vista

San Diego comes into the 2020 season with nothing but a trip to the playoffs on their mind. Despite winning a solid 32 games last season, the Toreros were only able to win 14 West Coast Conference (WCC) games, which put them in sixth place in the WCC standings. Only the top four seeds advanced to the playoffs, and the Toreros missed the cut by just one game. First place Brigham Young University (BYU) finished 2019 only four wins above fifth place San Francisco — a far more competitive margin than it seems. 

The WCC preseason coaches poll picked USD to finish fourth for 2020. Gonzaga was picked to finish first for the second consecutive year with 71 points and two first-place votes. BYU (68) was picked to finish second with five first-place votes after claiming the WCC regular season title in 2019. WCC Tournament Champions, Loyola Marymount (65), rounded out the top three with three first-place votes. 

USD’s head coach Rich Hill is the youngest active coach with 1,000 wins. With 1,034 wins in his 32-year college coaching career, his current 704-499-4 record at USD makes him the WCC’s all-time wins leader.

Juniors Adam Kerner and Shane McGuire were named to the All-WCC Preseason Baseball Team, as announced by the conference. It is the second consecutive season both catchers have received conference preseason recognition.

 Kerner continues to be a standout for the Toreros after earning All-WCC honorable mention and WCC All-Academic honorable mention last season. The junior catcher made 46 starts in 2019, hitting .274 with a team-high six home runs. He added 12 doubles and 45 hits, driving in 33 runs on the season. In WCC play, Kerner led the Toreros with 22 RBI (runs batted in) and was second with a .565 slugging percentage.

 McGuire joined Kerner as an All-WCC honorable mention in 2019 and earns his second preseason nod in 2020. During his sophomore season, McGuire made 52 starts for the Toreros, splitting time between catcher and first base. He finished 2019 with a .325 batting average, recording 64 hits including 12 doubles, one home run and 31 RBI. McGuire posted a .444 on-base percentage and was tied for first on the team with 42 runs scored.

San Diego will co-host the annual Tony Gwynn Legacy event with San Diego State University, Feb. 21-23. Teams participating in the city tournament include Southern Illinois, Arizona, Nebraska, Iowa and Seattle U. USD will face a 2019 NCAA tournament participant in Nebraska on Feb. 21. 

USD will welcome an international opponent, Keio University from Tokyo, Japan on Feb. 27. That is followed by a three-game series against Monmouth University (Feb. 28-March 1). This will be the first time USD has hosted an international opponent for a regular-season game. 

The WCC Tournament is scheduled for May 21-23 in Stockton, California.

The season begins with 18 non-conference games and USD will participate in two tournaments before the WCC games start. There are 55 games on the schedule for the Toreros and 26 will be played at Fowler Park. Eight of their first 11 games will be at home to start their 2020 campaign.

The season began on Feb. 14 when the Toreros traveled to Tempe, Arizona for the Los Angeles Angels College Classic. Teams participating in the tournament include Pepperdine University, University of Oregon and University of Minnesota. 

USD lost 5-4 in their opening game to Pepperdine. McGuire hit a two-run double in the top of the ninth but San Diego was unable to complete the comeback.

In game two, the Toreros rallied from a 5-5 tie in the ninth inning to win in thrilling fashion, securing a 6-5 victory over Oregon. 

Sophomore DH (designated hitter) Caleb Ricketts racked up four RBIs to help lead San Diego over the Golden Gophers 7-3 on Sunday afternoon to wrap up game three.