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SAN DIEGO – The University of San Diego baseball team scored two or more runs in each of the first five innings as the Toreros cruised to a 19-3 victory over Northern Kentucky University at Folwer Park on Friday evening.
Andrew Daniel went 2-for-3 with one walk and scored four times as Connor Joe and Kyle Holder each finished 3-for-5 from the plate to lead the San Diego (3-1) offense. Joe collected three runs and one double, while Holder added two RBIs, one run and one triple for the Toreros, who collected 18 total hits.
San Diego jumped out to an early 8-0 lead after plating six runs in the first inning and two the following frame.
NKU (1-4) then cut into its deficit in the top of the third inning.
Barrett Arnold hit his first career double to start the inning for the Norse, and he advanced to third as
Quint Heady reached base on an error by second baseman Austin Bailey.
Zac Asman followed with a double down the left-field line to score Arnold and Heady went to third.
Logan Spurlin then sent the third double of the inning to right field, and Heady and Asman both came home to cut the NKU deficit to 8-3.
The Toreros, however, responded in the bottom of the inning. After Jesse Jenner doubled and eventually stole both third and home, Louie Lechich hit his second home run of the game, which also scored Holder, to stretch the advantage to 11-3, spelling the end of the night for starter
Cody Cooper.
San Diego starter PJ Conlon retired the next 11 Norse batters to allow the Toreros to extend their lead. Back-to-back three-run innings in the fourth and fifth frames stretched the San Diego advantage to 17-3.
Caleb Lonkard, who is listed on the NKU roster as an infielder, made his first career appearance on the mound for the Norse and recorded the first scoreless inning of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, including striking out the first batter he faced. The junior from Union, Ky., also held San Diego scoreless in the seventh inning before allowing two runs in the bottom of the eighth for the final margin of the game.
Conlon (1-0) pitched seven innings in his first victory of the season for San Diego, which committed two errors on the night. The lefty allowed just one earned run on five hits, while striking out nine and only walking one batter.
Lechich, Bailey, Josh Goossen-Brown and Ben Wylly each recorded two-hit games for the Toreros, who stranded seven runners on the night. Wylly went 2-for-2 with two runs and two RBIs, while Bailey batted in four runs.
Asman and
Josh Myers each finished the night 1-for-3, with Asman scoring a run, while Spurlin collected two RBIs for the Norse. Heady, Arnold and
Kyle Colletta each collected hits for NKU, which recorded two errors and left seven runners on base.
Both teams return to the field tomorrow for a doubleheader starting at 4 p.m. Eastern. The four-game series then concludes on Sunday at 4 p.m. as well. Links to live stats, video and John Asalon's audio broadcasts will be available at nkunorse.com.
