SAN DIEGO, Calif.- Portland sophomore Justin Pierce belted his second homer in as many games, but a seven-run San Diego (23-19, 10-9 WCC) third inning was enough to down the Pilots, 9-5 in the opening of a three-game West Coast Conference series Friday afternoon at Cunningham Stadium. Junior catcher Joe Watson had three hits for Portland (7-30, 3-13 WCC), who matched San Diego’s hit total of 13, but left 10 runners on base.

San Diego’s Joey Prast started the scoring with his fifth home run of the season in the second inning. USD junior Joe Wickman then scored Jose Ortega on an RBI single for a 2-0 Torero lead off Pilot starter Matthew Peters.

After Portland cut the lead in half with a run in the top of the third, the Toreros erupted for seven runs in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by Randy Curtis’ first career grand slam. Despite entering the game with a team-best 3.48 ERA, the Toreros ran Peters (2-7) after 2.1 innings, allowing six earned runs. Pilot sophomore right-hander Trent Kristjanson pitched well in relief, giving up just two runs on six hits in 5.2 innings of work.

Torero starter Aaron Wilson (7-3) pitched eight innings, allowing three earned runs on eleven hits. Freshman reliever Josh Butler gave up a run, two hits and a walk in the ninth.

On the afternoon Prast went 3-for-4 with an RBI and three stolen bases for USD. Wickman was 3-for-3 with two RBI's and a run scored, while Ortega continued had a 2-for-3 effort.

Watson was 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored, raising his average to .293 on the season. Pierce went 2-for-5 and drove in two runs, while Travis Vetters and Jesse Rodgers each had two hits for the Pilots.

The teams will meet again on Saturday and Sunday at Cunningham Stadium with both games scheduled for 1 p.m. starts.