The University of San Diego Toreros (6-1) blasted past the San Diego State Aztecs (4-3) in a dominating 15-4 win at Tony Gwynn Stadium on Sunday evening.
“Yeah, it was a pretty good beat down,” head coach Kevin Vance said. “They’re a really good team, and I think this is a good thing for our team. We got a lot of guys that haven’t been in the trenches when things go bad, so as a group, if we can continue to learn, then I really do think these are positives the last two nights. We just have to keep learning.”
Sophomore righty Carson Johnson, fresh off Mountain West Pitcher of the Week honors, looked to repeat last week’s performance, while righty Drake Frize started for the Toreros.
Johnson struggled out of the gate, surrendering three runs in the first inning before USD added two more in the second. The right-hander lasted just two innings, allowing five runs on four hits and walks while striking out four.
Junior righty David Ladjevic, who was making his first appearance of the season, was unable to slow the momentum as he recorded just one out before being relieved by senior right-hander Evan Miranda. While the righties gave up a combined one hit, they struggled to find the zone with five walks and two hit batters in total.
After USD’s lengthy half-inning, the Aztecs broke through in the bottom of the third, capitalizing on Frize’s extended time between innings and scoring three runs. Senior catcher Gage Adams launched his second home run of the season to left field to make it 11–1.
Junior shortstop Jabin Trosky followed up with an RBI double to right-center as freshman first baseman Max Farrell scored from first. After Trosky advanced to third on a fielder’s choice, junior center fielder Jake Jackson drove him home on a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 11–3.
Freshman right-hander Jake Frohn made his collegiate debut in the fourth and threw the first scoreless inning by an Aztec pitcher to that point. In the bottom half, freshman second baseman Marc Emmerman recorded his first collegiate hit with a single to right field, but he was left stranded at first.
Frohn added another scoreless frame in the fifth, which was aided by a spectacular leaping catch at the wall from junior left fielder Adam Magpoc to rob USD of extra bases.
USD extended its lead in the sixth when sophomore left-hander Connor Shaw, also making his season debut, allowed a three-run homer to former Aztec CJ Moran, who sent it deep into right field to make it 14-3. While Shaw was tagged for another run in the seventh, junior righty Nick Falla, sophomore lefty Alito McBean and junior righty Colton LaFave each contributed scoreless innings in relief.
Senior third baseman Tyce Peterson hit an RBI single to right field to make it a 15-4 game, but that was all the offense the Aztecs could muster.
With the loss, the Aztecs fall to 4-3 as the Toreros improve to 6-1. The next game on the docket doesn’t get much easier as SDSU travels up north to play No. 1 UCLA on Feb. 24 at 5 p.m.
“It’s another great opportunity,” Vance said. “It just comes down to buying into what the standard is, and trying to set a new standard here. We got a lot of new faces and a lot of guys that have to figure out what it takes to win, and they have an opportunity here.”
