STOCKTON, Calif. – The Pacific baseball team opens up its West Coast Conference home slate by welcoming in San Diego for a three-game series, beginning at 6 p.m. on Thursday at Klein Family Field.
 
The Tigers (5-19, 1-2 WCC) are coming off a 7-2 setback on Tuesday against Nevada. In that contest, sophomore Jake Tandy continued his hot streak at the plate, launching a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth inning.
 
The Toreros (13-10, 1-2 WCC) enter the series against the Tigers, playing more than half of their games on the road this season, winning at Michigan, and dropping series at Dallas Baptist and Texas. San Diego opened its conference slate at home, falling in two of three games to Saint Mary's. The Toreros won their most recent game on Tuesday against Cal State Fullerton, 13-5.

Junior Angelo Peraza and sophomore Jack Gurevitch were selected to the 2024 WCC Baseball Preseason Team. With 54 points and three first-place votes, San Diego was tabbed to finish second in the 2024 WCC Baseball Coaches Preseason poll, just four points behind preseason favorite Santa Clara.

On a team with the fifth highest batting average in the conference, Gurevitch leads the Toreros with a .378 batting average (34-for-90), 18 runs scored and 17 RBIs.

Austin Smith and Jack Costello have supplied some power for San Diego, each hitting a team-high five home runs. Costello has the most RBIs on the team with 30.
 
Josh Randall is the ERA leader for San Diego, sporting a 1.85 ERA in five starts and 24.1 innings of work. He has 30 strikeouts and has walked nine batters.

Since 2009, the Tigers own a 7-23 record against the Toreros. However, the Tigers were victorious in the most recent matchup on March 19, 2023, in San Diego, winning 5-2 in the series finale last season. Sophomore Tony Otis went 2-for-4 in that contest, driving in a pair of runs with a triple and scoring once.
 
For the Tigers, sophomore Kaden Petersen carries the torch offensively, hitting .300 (24-for-80) with nine extra-base hits, 16 runs and 11 RBIs. Petersen has recorded at least one hit in 12 of his last 14 games.
 
Sophomore Jack Metcho has reached safely in all but one game this season, contributing to his .270 batting average and .368 on-base percentage. Metcho paces the Tigers in runs (17) and stolen bases (4). Metcho's three triples also put him in a tie for first in the WCC rankings. Senior Chase Graves leads the Tigers in walks (20), which ranks first in the WCC.
 
Junior Ethan Shaver leads the team in qualified ERA (4.23) through six starts and 27.2 innings of work. His ERA ranks among the top ten in the WCC.
 
The series will kick off Thursday with a 6 p.m. first pitch. Friday is set for a 3 p.m. first pitch and the series will close with a 1 p.m. contest Saturday. All games will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
 
Stay Social

For the latest on Pacific Baseball including updates and schedule information, please follow us on Twitter (@PacificBaseball), Instagram (@PacificBaseball) and Facebook (@PacificBaseball).
 
#PacificProud