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GAME NOTES VS. GONZAGA (PDF)



SAN DIEGO — San Diego baseball will begin its pursuit of a third consecutive West Coast Conference Regular-Season Championship this weekend, hosting league rival Gonzaga for a three-game series at Fowler Park and Cunningham Field from March 20-22.

The Toreros (7-12, 0-0 WCC) and Bulldogs (7-11, 0-0 WCC )will begin their conference clash with a 6:05 p.m. first pitch on Friday night, a 5:05 p.m. start on Saturday evening, and a 1:05 p.m. finale on Sunday afternoon.

All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+ (video) and USDToreros.com (audio) with Braden Surprenant (play-by-play) and Mike Gosling (analyst) on the call. Live statistics will be provided via StatBroadcast.

LAST TIME OUT
• USD was defeated three times by No. 18 Oregon State last weekend (March 13-15) at Fowler Park, falling to the Beavers by scores of 7-5, 11-5, and 10-3. The Toreros did not play a midweek game this week.

READY TO DEFEND THEIR CROWN
• San Diego enters the 2026 season having won each of the last two WCC Regular-Season Championships after hoisting the league trophy in both 2024 and 2025.

• The Toreros won 19 of their final 24 contests in 2025, a stretch that included a 19-5 mark in league games.

• USD swept four of its eight WCC series in 2025 and outscored conference opponents 204-106 last season.

IN IT TO WIN IT
• San Diego was selected as the favorite to win the 2026 West Coast Conference Baseball championship in the Conference’s annual preseason coaches’ poll, the WCC announced on January 21. The poll and preseason all-conference team were selected solely by a vote of the conference’s 10 head coaches.

• USD claimed five of the 10 available first-place votes for a total of 77 points, edging second-place Gonzaga (four first-place votes, 73 points) and third-place Saint Mary’s (one first-place vote, 67 points).

• It marks the second consecutive year that USD has been selected as the WCC’s preseason favorite, after claiming the top spot in the 2025 poll as well. San Diego has now been picked first in the WCC preseason coaches’ poll in 2016, 2017, 2025, and 2026.

ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS GONZAGA
• The Toreros are 63-45-1 all-time against the Bulldogs.

• USD has won 14 of its last 18 matchups with the Zags dating back to May 2021, and has prevailed in eight of its last nine clashes with GU dating back to April 2023.

• San Diego prevailed in three of its four games against Gonzaga last season. The Toreros took two of three in Spokane from April 25-27, 2025, then beat the Bulldogs by a 16-7 margin in an elimination game during the WCC Tournament at Las Vegas Ballpark on May 23, 2025. Center fielder Aden Howard was 3-for-5 that day with five RBIs and a run scored.

• Gonzaga last visited Fowler Park and Cunningham Field from April 26-28, 2024, when USD dispatched the Zags with a dominant sweep that culminated in a 19-0 victory in the series finale.

• In 2022, the Toreros beat Gonzaga in back-to-back games at Banner Island Ballpark by scores of 5-3 (May 27, 2022) and 15-12 (11 innings, May 28, 2022) to win the WCC Tournament Championship and clinch a berth to an NCAA Regional — the first of either under head coach Brock Ungricht.

FOR STARTERS (PROBABLE)
Friday: Graduate right-hander Diego Gutierrez (1-2, 7.23 ERA) will take the mound for the Toreros on Friday night in what will mark his sixth start of the season and his fourth at Fowler Park this year.

• Gutierrez, a native of Norwalk, California, spent the first four years of his college career at CSUN before transferring to USD ahead of the 2026 season.

• He leads the Toreros in both strikeouts (32) and innings pitched (23.2) so far this season.

• His 32 total strikeouts through five appearances (all starts) in 2026 ranks second in the WCC.

• He also ranks fourth in the WCC in Strikeouts Per Nine Innings (12.17) and Strikeout-To-Walk Ratio (4.57)

• Gutierrez threw five innings against No. 18 Oregon State in his most recent outing (Friday, March 13), allowing four runs on five hits in the Toreros’ series opener with the Beavers while striking out six and walking none.

• His longest and most effective start as a Torero was back on Friday, February 20, in the Toreros’ home opener against Utah. Gutierrez turned in six strong innings against the Utes, scattering four hits while allowing only two runs, walking none, and striking out eight.

Saturday: The Toreros’ starting pitcher for Saturday evening’s game has not yet been announced.

Sunday: The Toreros’ starting pitcher for Sunday afternoon’s game has not yet been announced.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Aden Howard | OF | Redshirt Sophomore | Carrollton, TX | Hebron HS / Dallas Baptist
• Batting .250 (18-for-72) with a home run, three triples, eight RBI, 13 runs scored, a .360 on-base percentage, and four stolen bases in six attempts.

• Owns the Toreros’ longest hitting streak of the season at 10 games and has reached base in all 19 of USD’s games to start 2026.

• He leads the WCC and ranks eighth nationally in triples.

• Howard contributed a key double in the 10th inning of San Diego’s walk-off win over Michigan (February 27) and drove in USD’s lone run with a sacrifice fly in the series opener at Cal (March 6).

• He joined USD from Dallas Baptist University, where he spent his freshman year but did not see game action.

Jayden Lobliner | C | Senior | St. Charles, IL | St. Charles North HS / Kansas State
• The reigning WCC Defensive Player of the Year leads the Toreros with a .368 average (28-for-76), six home runs, 20 RBI, 55 total bases, a .724 slugging percentage, and a .448 on-base percentage. He ranks second in the WCC in both home runs and slugging percentage.

• Has recorded a team-best eight multi-hit games and six multi-RBI efforts.

• Had the biggest individual performance of the season thus far at UC San Diego (February 24), going 4-for-6 with a home run and three RBI, and batted .500 (7-for-14) with three doubles and a triple across four games at Cal.

• Behind the plate, he has thrown out six of 15 attempted base stealers this season.

• A Kansas State transfer, Lobliner earned WCC Defensive Player of the Year and All-WCC Second Team honors in his first season with the Toreros in 2025.
 
Gabe Springer | INF | Graduate | Boulder, CO | Fairview HS / Stanford
• Batting .302 (19-for-63) with three home runs, 12 RBI, a team-high 21 runs scored, a .603 slugging percentage, and a .511 on-base percentage.

• Leads the WCC and ranks sixth nationally with 14 hit-by-pitches, and carries a seven-game hit streak into this weekend’s series against Gonzaga.

• Was at his best during the Tony Gwynn Legacy tournament, putting up five runs scored and a stolen base against Creighton (February 21), and batted .400 (6-for-15) with two home runs across four games at Cal.

• A Stanford transfer, Springer is also versatile defensively, having started seven games at third base, five at shortstop, five in left field, and two at second base this season.
 
CJ Moran | UTIL | Sophomore | Murrieta, CA | Murrieta Mesa HS / SDSU
• Has started every game of the 2026 season, batting .227 (17-for-75) with a home run, 12 RBI, 16 runs scored, a .363 on-base percentage, and six stolen bases in nine attempts.

• Leads the team with 15 walks and has drawn multiple walks in three games this season (including four in the series opener at Charlotte).

• Delivered the biggest hit of the early season — a walk-off RBI single in the 10th inning against Michigan (February 27) — and singled home the go-ahead run in the seventh inning against No. 25 USC (March 11) as part of a three-run rally that tied the game.

• A San Diego State transfer who batted .377 with 36 RBI in 44 starts for the Aztecs in 2025, Moran has also played first base, left field, right field, and second base this season.
 
Andrew Gauna | OF | Graduate | San Diego, CA |  Cal State Northridge
• Has started 18 of USD’s 19 games in right field, batting .281 (18-for-64) with a home run, three doubles, 11 RBI, and a .395 on-base percentage.

• Was USD’s best bat in the Oregon State series, going 5-for-10 (.500) with two RBI across three games, and posted the best individual outing of his Torero career at San Diego State (February 22) with a 3-for-5, four-RBI performance.

• A local product from San Diego who attended Patrick Henry High School and San Diego Mesa College before transferring to USD from Cal State Northridge, Gauna is the most experienced player in the Toreros’ outfield.
 
Connor Meidroth | SS | Senior | Manhattan Beach, CA | El Camino College
• After missing the first three games of the season, Meidroth has hit .279 (12-for-43) with four doubles, five RBI, and a .340 on-base percentage across 11 games since returning to the lineup.

• Has hit safely in six straight games heading into this weekend’s series against Gonzaga, the third-longest active streak on the roster.

• Hit safely in each of his first four appearances this season — including a 2-for-4 performance at Long Beach State (February 17) and a 2-for-2 effort with a double, an RBI, and a run scored versus Utah (February 20) in his season debut.

• Has started at shortstop in seven of his 11 appearances in 2026, also seeing time at third base and second base.

• A Manhattan Beach, California native who attended Mira Costa High School before transferring to USD from El Camino College, he is the younger brother of former Torero Chase Meidroth, who played at USD from 2020-22 and is currently in the Chicago White Sox organization.