PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland baseball team dropped its first West Coast Conference game with Friday's 9-4 series-opening loss to the San Diego Toreros at Joe Etzel Field. The Pilots fall to 20-11 overall and 6-1 in WCC play, while the Toreros improve to 22-10, 7-2 in league play and have won 11 consecutive games.
How it Happened
Brink was able to induce a pair of groundball double plays to get out of jams in the first two innings, but San Diego used a five-run third inning to create early separation. Dustin Allen and Jack Costello hit a pair of two-run singles and Jakob Christian added an RBI double.
The Toreros added to their lead on Christian's three-run homer in the fifth inning to go up 8-0.
USD starter Josh Randall kept the Pilots at bay with a no-hitter until Spencer Scott singled up the middle with one out in the seventh. Evan Scavotto followed with a single through the left side and Zach Toglia walked to load the bases. After a Jonas Salk RBI-groundout, Ben Patacsil drilled his third home run of the season over the left field fence to make it 8-4.
The Toreros added a run in the eighth and another solo homer from Christian in the ninth to cap the scoring.
Game Notes
» Portland starter Nick Brink (6-2) allowed a season-high eight runs on 11 hits in five innings of work.
» Josh Randall improved to 2-2 on the year after tossing 7.0 innings and allowing four runs on five hits with eight strikeouts for San Diego.
» Portland pitchers faced 46 San Diego hitters in the game, allowing eight ground balls and 10 fly balls while striking out seven.
» The Toreros outhit Portland by a 16-5 margin and left nine runners on base to Portland's one.
» Christian finished went 3-for-5 with a double, two home runs and five RBI to lead USD.
» Conner Thurman three two scoreless innings of relief for the Toreros.
Up Next
The three-game WCC series continues on Saturday with a 3 p.m. start and concludes Sunday at 1 p.m.
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