SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The University of California, Riverside (UCR) baseball team traveled for their first road series of the 2021 season to play the University of San Diego (USD) Toreros. Ultimately, Highlander bats struggled to support their pitching staff as Torero offense overwhelmed UCR into a 16-4 defeat.
An early double in the first inning put a USD runner on base, it was one of five doubles for the Toreros for the day. The following batter was hit by a pitch to put USD runners on first and second. Unfortunately for the Highlanders a wild pitch filled the bases and an RBI single scored the first run for USD.
The Highlanders answered back to tie the game in the second inning as Taylor Juline walked to get on base and advance to second on a balk. Anthony Mata sent him home with a single to even the score at 1-1. Travis Bohall (3-4) started off the third inning with a double down the left-field line before advancing to second base on Jacob Shanks' single to center-field. As Shanks stole second, Bohall was able to score on a throwing error by the Toreros catcher. UC Riverside had edged into the lead, 2-1.
The UCR lead would be short-lived, as USD responded with a two-RBI double to take the lead 2-3. The Toreros would successfully prevent the Highlanders from finding the lead for the rest of the game.
In the fourth inning, USD extended their lead with a pair of doubles that scored three runs. In the fifth and sixth inning the Toreros homered once per inning to score a total of five runs, widening their lead to 11-2.
In the seventh inning, the Highlanders attempted to stage a comeback with Ely Stuart and Joey Nikolai hitting a pair of RBI singles to tally two more Highlander runs, closing the deficit to 11-4.
However, any hopes of a UC Riverside comeback were dashed in the eighth inning as USD piled on five more runs to push their lead to the final score of 16-4.
The Highlanders return to USD tomorrow, March 13, for a shot at redemption in the form of a doubleheader with the first pitch scheduled for 1 PM.
