The University of San Diego baseball team has dominated West Coast Conference opponents, sweeping six of eight series this season.
One team that got the best of USD was Portland, which won two of three games between the teams.
USD got a measure of revenge at an opportune time, beating Portland 7-5 on Friday night in the WCC Tournament at Las Vegas Ballpark.
That moved the Toreros (39-13) within one victory of winning the conference crown and automatic NCAA Regional berth that goes with it. Whichever team USD plays in the finals would need to beat the Toreros twice to take the title.
Portland stayed on the field after the game and defeated Gonzaga 21-3 in an elimination game, so USD will play the Pilots (37-18) again in Saturday’s championship game at 1 p.m. (ESPNU).
“This puts us in position to take care of business,” said third-year USD coach Brock Ungricht, who recorded his 100th career victory. “These guys know what they’re up against.”
Winning two straight games in the tournament positions USD to start standout freshman right-hander Logan Reddemann (7-3, 3.48 ERA) in the potential title clincher.
USD’s Justin DeCriscio hit a solo home run in the second inning to open the scoring against Potland.
The Pilots scored twice in the third inning off USD starting pitcher Josh Randall (4-2) for a 2-1 lead, but the Toreros offense restored order with a four-run fourth for a 5-2 advantage.
USD led 7-4 when reliever Ivran Romero took over for Randall in the seventh. Romero allowed a run in the eighth, but, backed by the WCC’s best defense, didn’t let the Pilots get any closer.
“That meant the world to me,” said Romero, a senior from Poway High School who struggled last season but is 6-1 with three saves this year. “Those guys had my back all fall, all spring, through every piece of adversity. This means everything. This was for those guys.”
Said Ungricht: “Our pitching, I can’t say enough. ... They did a great job to put us in this position. That was just heart, and that’s what this team is all about.”
This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune .
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