CBB News Sources
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Behind another solid pitching performance from junior All-American Brian Matusz, 11 Torero hits and five Gonzaga University errors, the 17th-ranked University of San Diego baseball team (20-11, 2-2 WCC) cruised their way to a 10-2 West Coast Conference win over the Bulldogs (16-12, 1-2 WCC) Friday afternoon at USD’s Cunningham Stadium.
The Toreros wasted no time in scoring as they put up three runs on three hits in the third inning. Nick McCoy led off the inning with a single to centerfield and moved to second on a Kevin Muno sacrifice bunt. Josh Romanski moved McCoy to third on a groundout to the first baseman and Victor Sanchez drove in McCoy with a RBI single to centerfield. The Toreros then kept things going as they took advantage of a Gonzaga fielding error by the right fielder to allow James Meador to move all the way to second and scored Sanchez from first. Sean Nicol then drove in the final run with a RBI single to left field to move the score to 3-0 in favor of USD.
San Diego then began to put the game out of reach in the fourth inning as they scored three more runs on two hits. Logan Gelbrich led off the inning with a walk and moved to third on Jose Valerio’s double. McCoy then drove in Gelbrich with a RBI single to centerfield. After Muno was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Romanski drove in the next run as he reached on a fielder’s choice, in which the shortstop overthrew the bag, allowing both Valerio and McCoy to score the final two runs of the inning.
San Diego would then go on to score a run in the fourth inning on a Gelbrich solo home run, two runs in the sixth inning on a Romanski two-run homer and one run in the seventh inning on a McCoy RBI single to round off the scoring for the day.
Gonzaga took advantage of a USD fielding error to score two unearned runs in the seventh inning to spoil the shutout for the Toreros.
Offensively for the Toreros, McCoy led the way as he went 3-for-4 with two RBI. Gelbrich also looked impressive at the plate as he went 2-for-3 with one RBI and one home run and Nicol was the final USD batter to record multiple hits as he went 2-for-4.
Matusz (6-1) continues his impressive play on the mound as he allowed two unearned runs on six hits, while striking out eight in 7.0 innings of work to lower his season ERA to a impressive 1.57. Gonzaga’a starter, Brandon Harmon (2-4), was saddled with the loss for the Bulldogs as he allowed nine runs, five earned, on seven hits in 6.0 innings of work.
The Toreros will return to action on Saturday as they continue the three-game WCC series with Gonzaga at 1 p.m. inside the friendly confines of Cunningham Stadium.
