USD Magazine, Summer 2002

Golden boys at the beginning of a baseball season they were expected to dominate, the Toreros watched at midseason as their national ranking slipped away and their dream of playing in the NCAA Tournament faded. As they took the field in the final weeks, the players had one last chance to look inside themselves and prove they really were as good as they knew they could be.

by Timothy McKernan photography by David Harrison e

.C. Assael stepped to the plate and tapped his bat on the dirt of Pepperdine Stadium, the butterflies in his ,J,1 stomach feeling like a swarm of bees. With one out, two men on base and the Toreros trailing by two runs ~ in the eighth inning, a voice in his head told him what he already knew - USD's hopes of winning its first-ever West Coast Conference championship, and the NCMTournament invitation that comes with it, hinged on the outcome of this game. The senior catcher glanced at the stands behind third base, where USD fans easi ly outnumbered those of the hometown Pepperdine Waves. His parents had made the trip from nearby Glendora to watch him play. On this day they had expected to be 150 miles to the south, proudly watching him cross the stage of USD's Jenny Craig Pavilion in his cap and gown to collect his diploma in business administration. Yet fate placed the most

important game in 44 years ofTorero baseball on the same afternoon Assael and three teammates were supposed to hear their names announced as new college graduates. And not one of them had given a second thought to donning caps and jerseys instead of mortar boards and graduation gowns. The seniors were determined to put a dream– come-true ending on a season that had more twists and turns than a big-league knuckleball. As the preseason favorite to win the West Coast Conference tide, the Toreros boasted two of the league's best pitchers and an early-season ranking of 15th in the nation. Within days of breaking into the top 20, however, injuries sidelined two key infielders and the team spiraled into a slump, dropping 14 of rl1eir final 25 games, several from

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