April 3, 2004
Box Score
SPOKANE, Wash. - The University of San Diego Toreros pounded out 17 hits and starter Aaron Wilson held the Gonzaga University Bulldogs (10-18, 4-4 WCC) in check for eight innings as the Toreros (15-17, 3-8 WCC) evened the weekend West Coast Conference series with a 10-3 win on Saturday afternoon at Avista Stadium. The two teams will play the rubber game of the series on Sunday with a 1 p.m. start in Spokane.
San Diego chipped away at Gonzaga starter Ed Clelland (1-4) all afternoon as the Toreros never scored more than two runs in any one inning but did score in seven of nine innings for the game. Freddy Sandoval put USD up 1-0 in the first with a RBI double to left scoring Keoni Ruth. Joey Prast pushed the margin to 2-0 with a solo home run to lead off the third.
The Toreros then scored two runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to build an 8-0 lead and chase Clelland from the game in the sixth. Randy Curtis and Trevor Pike had RBI singles in the fourth while Sandoval added a two-run home run in the fifth. Ruth and Sandoval accounted for two more runs in the sixth, Ruth delivering a single while Sandoval collected his fourth RBI on a sacrifice fly.
Gonzaga mustered a little offensive spark in the bottom of the sixth after Wilson (6-2) had limited Gonzaga to just one hit through five innings. The Bulldogs scored their first run on a Kiel Thibault double down the right field line. Wilson would work out of the jam later in the inning as Gonzaga had two runners thrown out on the same run down play to end the sixth.
Pike added San Diego's ninth run in the seventh with an RBI single and Ruth hit an inside-the-park-home-run in the eighth on a ball that appeared to be stuck under the temporary fence in right, but was ruled to be in play by the umpire on the field. On the mound Wilson would again escape Gonzaga run scoring opportunities in the seventh and eighth innings as he exited the game allowing only five GU hits and one run with six strikeouts.
The Bulldogs put together one final rally in the ninth scoring two runs against the San Diego bullpen with back-to-back RBI doubles by Matt Reding and Bobby Carlson. Carlson finished as the only Bulldogs player with multiple hits as he went 2-for-4, the Bulldogs getting just eight hits all afternoon. Ruth, Sandoval, Curtis and Pike each had three hits for USD with Sandoval adding the four RBI.
