Hopes are high as Toreros turn to 2010 season

The first pitch of the 2010 Toreros baseball season is set to be thrown at 2 p.m. tomorrow right here at Cunningham Stadium. If the game and the subsequent series to follow were a sports movie, the tagline on the poster would read: "The Road to Omaha Starts Here."

Despite a fairly disappointing 2009 campaign in which the team finished fourth in the WCC and failed to reach the NCAA Tournament, the Toreros enter the season as a top contender for the conference title.

In fact, according to Assistant Coach Tyler Kincaid, last year's disappointment doesn't change a thing for this team. "The goals for the team are the same every year.  One, to own the WCC and win the conference championship, and two, to get to Omaha and compete for a national championship," Kincaid said.

Driving the team along the road to Omaha will be head coach Rich Hill, who is entering his 22nd season as a manager and his 12th with USD. He has led the Toreros to a winning record in all 12 of those seasons.

Starting pitching will be a key navigator in reaching the promised land for this year's team, and they will be led by their big three starters, Kyle Blair, A.J. Griffin and Sammy Solis. Griffin is sure to be the number one starter, after foregoing an opportunity to join the National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies organization in order to play out his senior season. He led the team in wins last season with eight, and his 3.33 ERA finished second to Blair's 3.13 for the team lead.

Solis, meanwhile, is coming off a season in which he took a medical redshirt. Entering his sophomore year of eligibility, he is expected to build on the success of his freshman year when he was named to the All-WCC freshman team.

The Toreros also bring a daunting lineup along the way, led by 2009 WCC Player of the Year James Meador. Meador compiled an impressive .376 batting average while driving in 45 runs to earn this distinction. He is joined by a talented infield that has shown tremendous ability to find a way onto the base paths. Junior shortstop Zach Walters was the team leader in batting average last season when he hit .377. He also had a .410 on-base percentage, drove in 24 runs, and scored 35 runs en route to being named to first team All-WCC. His partner up the middle is senior second-baseman Chris Engell, whose .358 average was third on the team behind Walters and Meador.

A big key to the 2010 season will be the return of third-baseman Victor Sanchez, who suffered through an injury-shortened 2009 season. In 2008, his 12 home runs led the team, and last season he still managed five home runs and drove in 23 runs in only 28 games.

Despite the injury, Sanchez still enters the season as one of the top draft prospects in the country. Don't think these lofty expectations will cause him to lose sight of the task at hand, however.

"I'm just trying to stay healthy and focus on the present and not get ahead of myself," Meador said. "As a team we just try to take it day by day. It's a long season and so many things can happen."

While the long season could lead to problems down the road for an inexperienced team, Assistant Coach Jay Johnson assures that his guys are up for the challenge. "We really like our team. We have a lot of experience and guys that know what it takes to compete and perform at a high level," Johnson said. "We have the chance to be solid in all phases and have great team chemistry."

The Toreros are ranked 19th in Baseball America's preseason polls, and they have a favorable schedule, which makes them a favorite to recapture the WCC crown. The team only leaves the state of California three times during the season: once to play Coastal Carolina, once to play Arizona State, and once for a northwest swing in which they take on Portland, Oregon State, and Oregon in three consecutive series. Meanwhile, they will play host to perennial contenders such as Rice, as well as San Diego State and Cal State Fullerton.

The expectations are high, as they always tend to be for Rich Hill's teams. But with players returning at full health, along with a solid core of experienced leaders joining them on the field, it is sure to be an exciting ride along the road to Omaha.