During a 45-minute break Saturday evening between games of the West Coast Conference championship series, Brock Ungricht reminded his University of San Diego baseball team that “no one comes to Las Vegas to sleep.”
OK, so the final game didn’t go as the Toreros had hoped.
After scoring three runs in the top of the ninth and having the tying run on third, Saint Mary’s finally recorded the final out to win 9-8 to claim the WCC Tournament and end USD’s season two games below .500.
But after returning to San Diego Sunday morning, Ungricht was beaming over his 2025 Toreros.
“Last year we went 41-15, were ranked 18th in the nation and won both WCC titles,” said Ungricht. “This season we finished 28-30. And as I’m as proud of this team as any I’ve ever coached.
“I’m speechless when it comes to talking about this team. They gave it their all. The pride that these guys had … they just fight. They never worried about struggling or being down by multiple runs or the circumstances. They just played.
“Finishing two games under .500 … what a great year.”
Because after 30 games, the Toreros were 6-24. USD was playing with 11 freshmen and 22 players who were new to the roster.
Then they won 22 of their next 28 games and won the WCC regular-season title.
The WCC Tournament became a marathon. After dropping the opener to Loyola Marymount, USD battled back through the losers’ bracket. From Friday’s first pitch to the season’s final out, USD played four games and a total of 41 innings in 15½ hours over a span of 34 hours.
“To see everything these guys went through, this season, this weekend. They just never quit. They played to that final out. We lost. It wasn’t for a lack of effort, fight or grit. We played Saturday’s first game after four to five hours of sleep. Then we played 14 innings and the second game.
“That season-ending loss doesn’t define our heart and character. Scoring three runs in the top of the ninth does.”
The Toreros hit three home runs in the season finale. Junior first baseman Jack Gurevitch hit his 17th of the season, a two-run shot. Freshmen Rex Watson and A.J. Beltre also connected. Gurevitch, Aden Howard and Vincent Venverloh all had two hits in the final game.
But the third-seeded Gaels scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth, then finally got the final out.
In addition to right fielder Watson and third baseman Beltre, the Toreros started three other freshmen this season — left fielder Aden Howard (whose three-run home run decided Saturday’s opening-game win over Saint Mary’s), second baseman Venverloh (Cathedral Catholic High School) and starting pitcher Cal Scolari.
They also started two sophomores from Eastlake High School — shortstop Isaiah Lane and catcher Nico Libed.
Gurevitch led the Toreros in batting average (.371), home runs, runs (56), walks (35), on-base percentage (.477), slugging percentage (.681) and OPS (1.158). Watson was second in home runs (13) and led USD with 60 RBIs.
Senior center fielder Austin Smith from Granite Hills High School hit .353. He was also the Toreros’ closer and allowed one run over the final five innings of USD’s 16-13 win over the Gaels in Saturday’s first game.
Lane hit .328 with 34 walks, a .457 on-base percentage, 53 runs scored and a .985 OPS.
Sophomore Logan Reddemann (3-1, 2.29 earned run average) and Scolari (5-3, 4.35) led the starting pitchers, although the pitching strength of the Toreros was in their bullpen depth.
