USD Baseball 2006

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2006 TORERO BASEBALL "'T!)--T-O_R_E_R_O_S_L_O_C_K_E_D_,_L_O_A_D_E_D_A_N_D_R_E_A_D_Y_T_O_R_E_T_U_R_N_T_O_P_O_S_T_S_E_A_S_O_N__

After a two year hiatus from the NCAA postseason, the University of San Diego baseball team is locked, loaded and ready for a return to the NCAA regionals . The Toreros have one of the most highly touted recruiting classes in the history of the program. In fact, the re– cruiting class is ranked among Baseball America's "Dandy Dozen." The recruiting class includes two of Baseball America's 'Fab-50' Freshmen in left-handed pitcher Brian Matusz and right-handed pitcher/ outfielder Josh Romanski. Along with these two outstanding freshmen , USO head coach Rich Hill and his coaching staff have added junior college 2004 All– American honoree, right-handed pitcher Anthony Slama, All-California Interscho– lastic Federation right-handed pitcher Scott Denault, and CIF Player of the Year Ricardo Pecina. With this incoming freshman class as well as the return of All-West Coast Conference selections Josh Butler, Matt Couch, Keoni Ruth, Justin Snyder, Jordan Abruzzo and Shane Buschini , the Toreros have received national recognition being ranked 36th in Collegiate Baseball's pre– season top-40 poll. Hill and his staff have also scheduled well according to Boyd– sworld .com, having the 10th toughest non-conference schedule in the country. With the combination of the new incom– ing freshman class, as well as the return of season veterans, and the 10th tough– est non-conference strength of schedule in the nation , coach Hill has his players focused on winning the wee crown and making their return to the NCAA postsea-

son. "Our goal as a team is the same as it is every year, to win the wee champion– ship and advance to the regionals ," said Hill. "Then , if we get into that regional , we just want to be playing really well at that time and try and kick it into another gear with our pitching to get into the su– per regionals, with the ultimate goal to make it into the College World Series." ◄◄ THE INFIELD The Toreros will look to newcomer Daniel Magness to replace Randy Curtis at first base. Magness joins the Toreros after one year at Dallas Baptist Universi– ty, where he hit .372 , good for third on the team, had 67 hits, with 14 doubles, four homeruns and 45 RBI in 2005. A pos– sibility to back up Magness at first base could be sophomore Brendon Quan , who posted a .111 batting average with one hit in 10 appearances last season . At second base USO welcomes back AII-WCC honorable mention honoree Ruth . Last season Ruth hit .338, second best on the team, was third on the team in doubles with 14, had 93 RBI , also good for third on the team, and led the team in hits with 73. The only other returning starter in the infield is junior shortstop Steve Singleton. In 2005 Singleton hit .283 with 53 hits, a team-leading 16 doubles, one triple and 30 RBI. The third base position has yet to be determined. There is a battle going on between sophomore Kevin Hansen and senior Ryan Lilly. Last season Hansen posted a .260 batting average with 25 hits, three doubles and six RBI in 30 ap– pearances. Lilly hit .240 with 35 hits, five doubles, three home runs and 21 RBI in 45 games. The coaching staff is confident that one of these players will emerge as the starter by the first game of the 2006 season . ◄◄ THE CATCHER When it comes to the catcher position there is no question who to expect - junior Jordan Abruzzo. He makes his return af– ter a season that saw him hit .240 with 67 hits, 14 doubles, one triple, a team– leading 10 home runs and 42 RBI. As a freshman, Abruzzo was a preseason All– American candidate and was selected as the wee Freshman of the Year. USD's coaching staff is confident he will return to that form and believe he can help lead the team to achieve their goals. Backing up Abruzzo behind the plate will be sophomore Logan Gelbrich, who posted a .265 batting average as a fresh-

man with 31 hits, nine doubles, one triple, two home runs and 22 RBI. The coaches will also use Gelbrich at the designated hitter spot throughout the season . ◄◄ THE OUTFIELD Junior Shane Buschini , who is thought by the coaching staff as one of the top draft prospects for the Toreros in 2006, will get the starting nod in right field this season. In 2005 Buschini led the team in hitting with a .352 batting average, led the team in multiple RBI games with 12, runs (46), stolen bases (15) and slugging percentage (.538). He also tied for the team-lead in RBIs with 42. Buschini led the wee in batting average (.398) during conference play en route to an AII-WCC first-team selection . In center field , USO will look to the experience of sophomore Justin Snyder to help anchor down the outfield . Last season Snyder hit .318 with 57 hits, nine doubles, one triple, four home runs and 31 RBI en route to an AII-WCC honorable mention . The front runner for the left field posi– tion appears to be Romanski . As a se– nior in high school, Romanski recorded a 10-1 record with an ERA of 0.42 and hit .510 with eight home runs and 45 RBI en route to being named the Mountain View League MVP along with an AII-CIF and All-State selection . Romanski was drafted in the 15th round of the 2005 MLB draft by the San Diego Padres, but chose to play collegiate baseball instead. Romanski is also expected to see time on the mound for the Toreros, possibly as a closer. Freshman David Harris could poten– tially see time in left field as well. Harris is a highly touted freshman from Glen– dale, Calif. who hit .345 during his senior season while earning a team MVP award and a first-team All-Sierra League selec– tion. ◄◄ THE PITCHING USO will look to some familiar faces in the pitching rotation with the return of Josh Butler and Matt Couch. Couch led the WCC with a 2.39 ERA during confer– ence play, and makes his return to the Toreros after posting a 3.65 overall ERA and a record of 5-3. Butler, a right-hand– er from Danville, Calif., makes his return to USO after registering a 7-7 record and a team-leading 3.42 overall ERA. Butler was second on the team in strikeouts with 82 , with 51 strikeouts coming during con– ference play. Both players are expected to become two of the three starters for the Toreros in 2006. www.usdtoreros.com

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