USD Magazine Summer 2013

TORERO  ATHLETICS

MAKING IT HAPPEN Rich Hi l l reflects on his successful run at the helm of USD Basebal l [ p e r s p e c t i v e ]

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show their parents, their room- mates, their friends. And we just went to work.”

going. There’s a lot going on, and it’s great to have a real buzz in the air about this team and the pros- pects for the future.”

them, and I really feel like that put us on the map. And then there was the 2008 NCAA regional. We beat Long Beach State in the morning game, and we came back and beat Fresno State in the nightcap (Fresno State went on to win the national title that year) to get to the regional title game. That established a new benchmark for us.”

ead Baseball Coach Rich Hill has built the Toreros into one of the most successful

Division I programs on the West Coast. Since taking over in 1999, he’s led the Toreros to five West Coast Conference (WCC) Champi- onship titles and recently earned his 500th win at USD. Pardon the pun, Coach, but USD Baseball sure seems to be swinging a hot bat right now. Q:

Q:

There have been some huge wins along the way

Q:

What were things like when you first arrived

that helped shape the program into what it is today. Any par- ticular games stick out? “The first thing that comes to mind is the sweep of Texas in 2006. Texas football had just won the national championship, and the baseball team was ranked No. 1 on the Coaches’ Preseason Poll. They came in here and we swept

back in 1999?

“Well, I can tell you that we wanted to change the culture immedi- ately. We had pencils and cups made up that had USD as the NCAA West Regional Champions, and handed them out to all the players at the first meeting. I told the guys to take them home and

Q:

We’ve got to put you on the spot: Who’s the

best player you’ve ever coached at USD?

“Yep. I’m really proud of where our program is, and where we’re

“I’d have to say A.J. Griffin ’11. I remember when we first were recruiting A.J., and my assistant coaches were telling me that we had to have this guy. I saw him throwing in the low 90s during high school playoffs, and really felt like he was our guy, so we went after him and got him. When you stack his four-year career up as both a starter and a reliever, that kind of a career is really once-in-a-lifetime at this level.” game-changer for the program moving forward. What have been the immediate impacts of play- ing in such an amazing facility? “Have you seen the place? That should be self-explanatory. What it’s done immediately is impact the 2013 team in ways I haven’t Q: Fowler Park has the potential to be a real

LUIS GARCIA

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USD MAGAZINE