Toreros win WCC weekend

USD baseball takes two of three from USF to win their first West Coast Conference series of season 

Henry Jones / Contributor / The USD Vista

University of San Diego baseball (17-7, 3-3 WCC) came into Friday night’s action with the second-best overall record in the West Coast Conference (WCC) and showed no signs of stopping with a 10-3 victory over the University of San Francisco Dons. Despite dropping two of three games in last weekend’s homestand against Pepperdine, the Toreros bounced back and extended their early season success, as they have won eight of their last 10 games. USD’s offense broke out, and scored seven runs in the bottom of the third. Sophomore first baseman Shane McGuire spearheaded the scoring, going 4-4 with two doubles, an RBI, and a walk. The Torero’s offensive explosion was backed by yet another stellar start from junior left handed pitcher Chris Murphy, who threw six innings  with nine strikeouts and only allowed 3 earned runs late in the game. 

The Toreros’ first game of their weekend homestand was set up to be a good one, with San Francisco giving the ball to their preseason All-WCC pitcher Riley Ornido. In five games and 34 innings pitched prior to Friday night, Ornido had an outstanding 0.79 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, and 29 Strikeouts. Coach Rich Hill gave the scouting report on Ornido.  

“He is one of the best pitchers in the conference,” Hill said.“ He’s got a filthy split finger (fastball) and a slider to go with a ninety-mile-per-hour fastball.” 

USD started out strong on Friday, as Chris Murphy struck out the side in the first inning, but it took a while before the Torero bats got going. The bottom of the first started with first-year infielder Cody Jefferis drawing a walk, followed by a single to right field by sophomore first baseman Shane McGuire, putting Toreros at first and third. Despite being in prime position to score, a strikeout by senior shortstop Jeff Houghtby and a pop out by first-year utility player Caleb Ricketts left the runners stranded. In the bottom of the second, after a single by Chris McCready and a walk by Adam Kerner, USD came up short again with strikeouts from Jefferis and senior infielder Ripken Reyes. 

Despite two missed opportunities with runners in scoring position, however, the USD offense finally broke out in the bottom of the third by scoring seven runs. Houghtby started the Toreros’ big third inning by ripping a double down the right field line, which nearly scored McGuire. After that, Houghtby’s double was followed up by an RBI single from sophomore outfielder Tora Otsuka, Ricketts reaching on an error, and sophomore catcher Adam Kerner walking with the bases loaded, making the score 3-0 USD. The Torero lead grew even more with a crucial 3-RBI double by Reyes deep into the left-center gap, making it 6-0 USD. After an RBI single by McGuire, USD extended their lead to 7-0.  

McGuire described the team’s approach at the plate, and how that approach was key in their big third inning. 

“I think it was just the small things,” McGuire said. “The free nineties is what really fires us up. Walks and what not. We got the bases loaded and then Ripken Reyes hit the double in the gap, which really got our offense going. We were waiting for someone to break it open, and he’s a great leader.” 

But despite facing a highly anticipated pitcher in Riley Ornido, Shane McGuire stated after the game that the key to his success against San Francisco’s ace and his big night at the plate was being selective at the plate.

 “Coach Ungricht and (assistant coach Ray McIntire) did a great job of breaking down what he was gonna throw to us, so we came to the plate hunting fastballs, laying off the off-speed, and seeing the ball up,” McGuire said. 

In the fourth inning, Kerner drove a towering fly ball down the left field line, only to fly out into left field on the preceding pitch. And after hitting a crucial double in the third, Reyes hit a line drive into the left field gap in the fifth inning, only for it to be tracked down in a miraculous diving play by USF center fielder Tyler Villaroman. 

Nonetheless, the Toreros kept their comfortable lead intact behind steady pitching from Murphy. As Murphy got deeper into the ballgame, however, he noted that he experienced his “fair share of command issues.” In the sixth inning, he gave up a three-run home run to San Francisco left fielder Jonathan Allen, moving the score to 8-3, and Murphy would eventually come out of the game after completing six innings. He described his mentality on Friday night. 

“I actually tried to keep it in my mind as if it was a 0-0 ball game in order to get out there and keep pounding it,” Murphy said. 

The junior lefty also attributed part of his success to having a great defense behind him, noting acrobatic plays in the field from his shortstop Jeff Houghtby, as well as third baseman Ripken Reyes.

“It minimizes innings and it gets me to the sixth inning,” Murphy said. “It gets me there and keeps my pitch count down and go as long as I can.” 

Hill discussed Murphy’s performance on the mound.

“He got kind of tired in the sixth inning, but he fought through it,” Hill said.

The veteran head coach also expressed the importance of Murphy to the team, as well as his bright future.

“He’s a Friday guy in the WCC,” Hill said. “I think he’s got a special career ahead of him and he’s a special kid. He gives us a chance every Friday to win, and tonight was no different.” 

After Murphy left the game, the Toreros wrapped it up with lights-out pitching from redshirt sophomore righty Travis Kuhn, and first-year righty Cade Brown, along with additional RBI from Houghtby and Otsuka. With this combination of offensive firepower plus pitching and defense, USD won the game by a score of 10-3 over the Dons. 

Overall, the Toreros’ Friday night win was due not only to stellar individual performances from Murphy and McGuire, but to a total team effort. 

In their Saturday evening matchup with the Dons, USD lost a tough, 10-4 decision. On Sunday afternoon, however, they were able to bounce back with a 6-4 comeback win that featured some late-game heroics in the form of a six-run eighth inning. Their wild Sunday victory earned them a 2-1 win of the series against USF, their first conference series win of the year. Their record now stands at 17-7 overall, and 3-3 in the WCC, good for a three-way tie for fifth place in the 10-team conference. 

Coming up next, the Toreros will travel to  Spokane, Wash. to continue WCC play versus Gonzaga  beginning on March 29. 

USD will return home on Tuesday, April 2 to take on UC Riverside before they square off with  WCC opponent BYU starting Thursday, April 4.