USD Magazine, Summer 2002

opponents they should have steamroll ed. The Toreros lost their national ranking, and th e dream of the wee championship began to fade. Bur Assael and the other seniors weren't about to let thei r last season together end without a fight. They clawed their way th rough the final quarter of rhe schedule,

And for good measure, rhey had to best Pepperdine - a school with 14 WCC championships under its belt - in Malibu. The series had begun much li ke thei r roller coaster season. USD handily bear Pepperdine in the first game, 7-3, behind the masterful perfo rmance of pitch ing ace Ricky Barrett. Bur joy was quickly replaced by disappointment when

I I t had been a long road to rhar Sunday U in Mal ibu. Under former Coach John Cunningham, who led the ream for 35 years and for whom the USD baseball stadium is named, the Toreros enjoyed much success. H e guided USD to 16 winning seasons, advancing to the NCAA Division II region– als four rimes, and to that division's College World Series in 1971 and 1978. In 1979, USD joined the Division I ranks - the collegiate equivalent of the major leagues - and in 1985 became part of the West Coast Conference. Cunningham's reams knocked on d1e door of the wee championship several rimes, bur never claimed the ride. When Cunningham retired in 1998, new head coach Rich Hill rook over with a mission to rake the ream where it had never been before - to a WCC championship. A former coach at his alma mater, California Lutheran

the Toreros were blown our, 13-5 , in the second game. With all rhe hopes of a golden season riding on the final game, as rhei r friends and class-

In the same week the rankings came out, the baseball gods turned their

backs on the Toreros.

hanging on to win rhe WCC West Division. To earn rhe championship, however, and have a shot at maki ng it to rhe College World Series, the Toreros had to defeat Pepperdine University, first-place finishers in rhe WCC Coast Division, in a three-game series that culminated on graduation day.

mates collected their diplomas, the Toreros stumbled early on and fell behind by rwo runs. In the top of the eighth inning, the ream was down to its final six ours of the season - and the last chance for the players to prove they were as good as they told themselves they co uld be.

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