USD Baseball 2010

TOREROS READY TO ROLL Last season the Toreros were a respectable 29-25 but failed to reach post-season play for the first time since 2005.Once again though the Toreros are stocked with great talent on both offense and on the mound. Head Coach Rich Hill, in his 12th season at San Diego, is looking to return this team to the head of the West Coast Confer– ence. r.. Despite losing an all-conference infielder and . Blair, a junior right-hander,will return from an injury– plagued season in 2009. He made only 10 appear– ances with eight of those being starts, while finishing the season with a 3-2 record with a 3.13 ERA and he also recorded two saves. The right-hander is known for his ability to get the big strike out,and he will also be counted on to provide some veteran leadership in his third season.

Redshirt sophomore Solis makes a return to the rota– tion after only making two starts last year before suf– fering a season-ending injury. During his freshman campaign he was named to the AII-WCC freshman team, and this season he is looking to stay healthy and be a third strong starter for the Toreros. "Sammy Solis and Kyle Blair are two of the best pitch– ing draft prospects in the country. All three of those guys, including AJ, really form a pretty intimidating three-headed monster," said Hill. With Griffin set in the starting rotation, it will be se– nior right-hander Matt Thomson who will take over the closer role. Last season, Thomson posted a 5-5 record with a 5.98 ERA in 12 starts and 81 .1 innings of work. After turning down an offer from the De– troit Tigers this past summer, Thomson will anchor the back end of the bullpen and finish his degree. Relief pitching for USD is going to be an opportu– nity for several right-handers to shine. Senior Matt Hauser, redshirt juniors Darrin Campbell and Casey Schmidt as well as sophomore Chris Jensen will all be in the mix for middle relief work as well as the fourth spot in the rotation. In his first season with USD, Hauser made 23 ap– pearances for the Toreros, including three starts. He finished the season with a 5-2 record while striking out 40 and walking only 13. Campbell appeared in 18 games last season, making eight starts, and post– ed a 3-5 record with a 5.16 ERA while striking out 40 batters in 52.1 innings of work. As a freshman, Jensen made 19 appearances, includ– ing three starts and in 34.0 innings of work he did not allow a home run . Schmidt did not play for the Toreros last season due to NCAA transfer rules, but is expected to make an immediate impact this season .

some depth to the bench and pitching staff, the Toreros are primed for an exciting season . The team will feature a strong mix of talented return– ing players as well as some newcomers to help them achieve their goals of winning the WCC r Championship for the third time in four years and ~ \ making their first ever appearance in Omaha . "Our goals are the same every year and that is to win the West Coast Conference Championship and play in Omaha for the National Champion– ship.The make up of this year's team is extremely veteran.There is tons of experience at a lot of po– sitions and there is a sense within this team that this is their time to make their mark," said Hill. PITCHING The 2010 Toreros pitching staff will be headlined by their big three starters AJ Griffin, Kyle Blair and Sammy Solis.Griffin returns for his senior season, and his first full year as a starting pitcher for the Toreros, after establishing himself as USD's sin– gle-season saves record holder with 14, and ca– reer saves leader with 28. This season, Griffin has been th rusted into a starting role to help anchor down one of the nation's premier pitching rota– tions. Last season he appeared in 17 games and made nine starts, posting an 8-3 overall record and had three saves to go along with his 3.33 ERA. Griffin was named first-team AII-WCC and set career highs for a season in wins, strikeouts, and innings pitched. "Pitching wise I think you start with AJ Griffin.We committed to AJ to being a starter this year. He turned down an offer from the Philadelphia Phil– lies to come back and learn how to be a starter and gain experience in that role and finish his degree," said Hill.

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