San Diego baseball lost to Portland 9-6 on April 30 after a late comeback attempt at Joe Etzel Field. The Toreros scored three runs in the seventh inning and brought the tying run on base in the ninth, but were unable to complete the rally.
The game saw San Diego (16-26, 8-11 West Coast Conference) challenge Portland (24-18, 10-9 WCC) late, with Phoenix Brant and Cade Martinez drawing walks in the top of the ninth. CJ Moran led off with a double and was brought home by Andrew Gauna’s RBI single. Despite getting multiple runners on base, Portland secured the final out to end San Diego’s chances.
Earlier in the game, Martinez and Tanner Kern opened the seventh inning with singles before Connor Meidroth walked to load the bases. Moran hit a sacrifice fly that cut into Portland’s lead, while Gauna and Diego Gonzalez each drove in additional runs during that frame. San Diego collected seven of its twelve hits over the last three innings as their offense tried to close the gap.
Caleb Sebek made his first collegiate start for San Diego, pitching a scoreless first inning before allowing five runs as part of a six-run second inning for Portland. Relievers Aidan Gonzalez, Christian Garcia, Kyle Bade, Lucas Shannon, Jagger Edwards and Chaz McRoberts combined for strong performances over subsequent innings. McRoberts struck out five batters over two innings while limiting damage to one run.
Notable performances included Moran going 3-for-4—his fifth multi-hit game during his current six-game hitting streak—and reaching base safely in 26 of his last 28 games since March 8. Gauna extended his own streak by recording hits in sixteen of his last seventeen games. Gonzalez also tallied three hits for his second consecutive three-hit outing.
San Diego will continue its series at Portland Friday evening at Joe Etzel Field with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m., streamed live on ESPN+.
