{"id":282903,"date":"2026-04-24T00:29:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T00:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/282903\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T00:29:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T00:29:16","slug":"wcc-championship-rematch-set-for-this-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/282903\/","title":{"rendered":"WCC Championship Rematch Set for This Weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n GAME NOTES VS. SAINT MARY’S (PDF)<\/a>
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SAN DIEGO \u2014 Fresh off of back-to-back walk-off wins at Fowler Park for the first time since 2022, San Diego baseball (15-23, 7-8 WCC) is set to continue conference play at home this weekend, hosting Saint Mary’s (23-17, 8-7 WCC) for three games in America’s Finest City.<\/p>\n

First pitch in the series opener on Friday night is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., followed by a 5:00 p.m. start on Saturday evening and a 1:00 p.m. finale on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n

All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+. Mike Gosling will have the solo play-by-play call on Friday, and will be joined by Alex Miniak on both Saturday and Sunday. Live statistics will be provided via StatBroadcast all weekend.<\/p>\n

LAST WEEK: Back-To-Back Walk-Off Wins at Fowler Park

\n\u2022 Both Andrew Gauna<\/a> and Connor Meidroth<\/a> played the hero last Sunday (April 19) and Tuesday (April 21), delivering game-winning RBI singles against Seattle U and UC San Diego, respectively.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Gauna headlined a three-run ninth-inning comeback that secured a 13-12 victory over the Redhawks, while Meidroth broke a 5-5 tie to top the Tritons 6-5 in 10 innings.<\/p>\n

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST SAINT MARY’S

\n\u2022 The Toreros are 96-60-1 against the Gaels all-time, and have won five of their last six matchups with SMC dating back to March 2024.<\/p>\n

\u2022 USD won four of the five meetings between the two teams last season, but the one game the Toreros lost to Saint Mary’s was a big one: the 2025 WCC Tournament Championship Final.<\/p>\n

\u2022 After Aden Howard<\/a> lifted San Diego to an unforgettable 16-13 14-inning comeback victory over SMC in the first game of the 2025 WCC Tournament Championship, the Gaels responded by prevailing in a narrow 9-8 decision that same evening to win the 2025 WCC Tournament Championship Final and punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. USD had the game’s tying run at third base when Rex Watson<\/a> struck out to end the contest.<\/p>\n

FOR STARTERS (PROBABLE)

\nFriday:\u00a0Graduate right-hander\u00a0Diego Gutierrez<\/a>\u00a0(4-2, 5.63 ERA) is slated to make his 10th start of the season in Friday night’s series-opening matchup with the Gaels.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Gutierrez allowed four runs on nine hits across 4.2 innings in his most recent start, which came last Saturday (April 18) versus Seattle U. He walked one and struck out four against the Redhawks.<\/p>\n

\u2022 A native of Norwalk, California, Gutierrez spent the first four years of his college career at CSUN before transferring to USD ahead of the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

\u2022 He leads the Toreros in both strikeouts (61) and innings pitched (48) so far this season.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Gutierrez also ranks third in the WCC in Strikeouts Per Nine Innings (11.44), and his 61 total strikeouts through eight appearances (all starts) in 2026 is the fourth-most among WCC players.<\/p>\n

\u2022 After striking out four on Opening Night at Charlotte on February 13, Gutierrez has gone on to notch six or more strikeouts in all but one of his outings since, including back-to-back eight-strikeout efforts on February 20 (versus Utah) and February 27 (versus Michigan).<\/p>\n

\u2022 His longest and most effective start as a Torero thus far came 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.<\/p>\n

Saturday: Sophomore righty Fernando Palencia<\/a> (2-3, 6.32 ERA) will take the mound for the Toreros to start their Saturday evening clash with Saint Mary’s.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Palencia has appeared in 11 games and made six starts so far this season, including a start in each of the Toreros’ last five series.<\/p>\n

\u2022 He most recently pitched last Sunday (April 19), when he allowed five runs (four earned) across three innings against Seattle U at Fowler Park, walking one and striking out one.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Prior to last Sunday’s outing, Palencia had turned in back-to-back quality starts, throwing a career-high six innings while allowing three earned runs and striking out six against Santa Clara (April 4) before allowing just two earned runs across five innings while striking out five at San Francisco (April 12).<\/p>\n

Sunday:\u00a0The Toreros’ starting pitcher for Sunday afternoon’s series finale has not yet been announced.<\/p>\n

A FLAIR FOR THE DRAMATIC

\n\u2022 The Toreros’ back-to-back walk-off wins (April 19 vs. Seattle U and April 21 vs. UC San Diego) prior to Friday night’s series opener against Saint Mary’s are USD’s first consecutive victories of that nature since 2022, when San Diego completed two walk-off wins in one day.<\/p>\n

\u2022 On Friday, April 15, 2022, the Toreros resumed their series-opening matchup with Loyola Marymount (paused the night before due to Fowler Park’s 11:00 p.m. noise and light curfew) and promptly prevailed by a 9-8 margin in the 14th inning on a game-winning RBI single from Dustin Allen.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Approximately two hours later, Angelo Peraza delivered the Toreros a 1-0 win with an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth, giving San Diego two walk-off victories in one remarkable afternoon.<\/p>\n

FOWLER MAGIC

\n\u2022 San Diego has now recorded an incredible 18 walk-off wins at Fowler Park since Brock Ungricht<\/a> took over as head coach in 2022.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The Toreros had five game-winning hits in the ninth inning or later at Fowler Park in 2022, four in 2023, and three in both 2024 and 2025.<\/p>\n

\u2022 USD has totaled three walk-off victories thus far in 2026, all of which have come on game-winning RBI singles: CJ Moran<\/a> vs. Michigan on February 28 (10 innings), Andrew Gauna<\/a> vs. Seattle U on April 19, and Connor Meidroth<\/a> vs. UC San Diego on April 21 (10 innings).<\/p>\n

\u2022 Two of the Toreros’ three walk-offs in 2026 (February 28 vs. Michigan and April 21 vs. UC San Diego) have been decided by a score of 6-5 in 10 innings.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Last May, USD brought their “Fowler Magic” to Las Vegas Ballpark when Aden Howard<\/a> hammered a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 14th inning against Saint Mary’s in game one of the 2025 WCC Tournament Championship.<\/p>\n

OUCH!

\n\u2022 Graduate utility player\u00a0Gabe Springer<\/a>\u00a0leads the WCC and ranks eighth nationally with 21 hit by pitches thus far in 2026.<\/p>\n

\u2022 His average of 0.64 hit by pitches per game also leads the league and is the third-highest mark in the country. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2022 Springer has been hit by a pitch in 16 of the 33 games he’s played in this season.<\/p>\n

\u2022 He was hit by a pitch in six consecutive games from February 14 to February 24, 2026\u00a0 and drew a HBP in five straight contests from March 21 to March 28, 2026.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Springer also has three multi-hit-by-pitch games to his credit in 2026, including a three-HBP performance on February 21 versus Creighton.<\/p>\n

\u2022 As a team, USD ranks first in the WCC and 55th nationally with 71 total hit by pitches in 2026.<\/p>\n

MORE TRIPS TO LOB CITY

\n\u2022 It took senior catcher\u00a0Jayden Lobliner<\/a>\u00a0just 19 games to reach his home run total from 2025 \u2014 six \u2014 which was achieved across 52 games last season.<\/p>\n

\u2022 He now has a career-high eight homers entering Friday night’s action, which is the most on the Torero roster this year.<\/p>\n

LOBLINER NAMED TO 2026 BUSTER POSEY AWARD MIDSEASON WATCHLIST

\n\u2022\u00a0Jayden Lobliner<\/a>\u00a0is one of 50 catchers who have been selected for the 2026 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award Midseason Watchlist, the Wichita Sports Commission announced on April 1.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Lobliner, who was named the 2025 West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year and to the 2025 All-WCC Second Team, has posted a .990 fielding percentage through 34 games this season, throwing out seven would-be base stealers while allowing just three passed balls and committing only three errors.<\/p>\n

\u2022 At the plate, Lobliner has been one of the Toreros’ most consistent and powerful bats, batting .314 (48-for-153) 26 runs scored, 13 doubles, one triple, 29 RBIs, three hit by pitches, and 13 walks.<\/p>\n

\u2022 He is slugging .569 this year, is getting on base at a .379 clip, and is 5-for-5 stealing bases of his own.<\/p>\n

GRAND LARCENY

\n\u2022 The Toreros rank second in the WCC with 49 stolen bases and an average of 1.29 stolen bases per game in 2026.<\/p>\n

TRIPLE THREAT

\n\u2022 San Diego leads the WCC in triples (10), triples per game (0.26), and triple plays (one).<\/p>\n

SLUGGING AWAY

\n\u2022 USD’s .411 team slugging percentage thus far in 2026 is the third-highest mark in the WCC.<\/p>\n

SELFLESS

\n\u2022 The Toreros rank second in the WCC and 34th nationally with 26 sacrifice bunts so far this season.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Freshman infielder Diego Gonzalez<\/a> leads USD with six of those sacrifice bunts to his credit, including an average of 0.21 sacrifice bunts per game. Both of those tallies also rank second among all WCC players.

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