USD Baseball 2003

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2003 University of San Diego Baseball

San Diego Baseball 2003 A host of talented returning players along wi th the addition of some young prospec ts has San Diego picked among the W CC's bes t in the preseason polls. Two-time first ream All-W est Coast Conference pitcher/outfi elder Tom Caple and fe llow seni or Tony Perez bring back the mos t experi ence and proven talent co the 2003 version of the Toreros, who lose five players ro the Major League D raft this off season. Perez is a swi tch-hitting batter and left- handed pi tcher, excel ling at all areas of the game- earn ing all-conference recog nition as a junior. Perez p itched three scoreless inni ngs ro close out Pepperdine in che decisive game of the W CC Championship series in 2002 . Caple owns a .315 batting average over hi s two-year Torero career. A senior from nearby Rancho Bernardo High School, Caple is also one of che WCC's best pitchers. Used main ly as a starter in 2002, he st ruck out 95 barters throug h 109 innings and was named the league's pi tcher of che week twice. As a sophomore in 2001 Caple was used as a reliever, leading the leag ue in saves with nine. Led by Perez, Caple and the five p layers los e co the Major Leag ue D raft including 2002 WCC Pitcher of the Year Ricky Barrett, USD broke countless school records lase season and sec fi ve new WCC marks, en route co winning an all-time school best 39 games.

OF/P Tony Perez is USD's leadoff man. He switch-hits, plays the outfield and is the team's closer.

Led by fifth-year H ead Coach Rich Hill (2002 WCC Coach of che Year) San Diego expectations are hig h heading inco the 2003 season. Hi ll owns

a 136-98- 2 (. 524) record as San Diego's head coach and has improved the Torero's record in each of hi s four seasons in San Diego. In his first head coac hing job as the manager at Cal Lutheran, he won 83% of his games during his final three seasons (1991-93). Then Hill went ro San Francisco, caking the Dons from the WCC cellar co a 34-win season in his final year at USP in 1998 . Hi ll led San Diego co the school's first W es t Coast Conference Championship in 2002 as USD advanced into the NCAA Reg ionals in Mesa, Arizona. Hi ll will now have co find a way co replace the 2002 Pitcher of the Year Ricky Barrett, one of the best hitters in the WCC in David Bag ley, and also will be without the senior leadership ofJ oe Lima, S.C. Assael and J ason Marion. Hill , who seems co find a way co win , has armed his squad with some talented young players he hopes can seep in and fill some of the voids left after g raduation and the MLB draft that depleted San Diego of some key players. San D iego welcomes the additions of junior college transfer's Jose Onega, Randy Cunis and Kyle Collins. AU three players fi g ure co p lay a key role in USD 's line-up. Collins is a right-handed junior college All-American from San J ose City College. Ortega is a g ifted middle infielder and Curtis, a left-h anded batter, may stare in the outfield. Along with the before mentioned two-way talents of Tony Perez and Tom Caple, the core of USD's ream can be found in 18 returning players. Joey Prast and Lucas Wenriersten are junior's who will gee the chance as everyday players after play ing well as underclassmen. Prast , a right-handed outfielder, was the W CC's Freshman of the Year in 2001. Ben Quinto is a senior infielder with excellent defensive skills and hie .3 15 as the Torero's shorcscop in 2002. Talented sophomore Freddy Sandoval faccors into the Torero line-up after hitting 10 doubles as a true freshman in 2002. On the mound , rerurns starters junior Aaron Wilson (5-4, 4 .78 ERA 2002) and sophomore Sean Warlop (3-1, 6 .6 1 ERA 2002), who are likely ca ndidates for a spot in USD's weekend rotation. Collins has very good scu ff and may be called upon as a scarcer. In the bullpen, USD will use an array of pitchers. Left-h anded throwing Perez led the team with 7 saves in 2002. Left-handed senior Mike Oseguera (5-2, 4.46 ERA 2002) appeared in a team-high 25 games last season and yielded a staff-low 12 walks.