The UCSD baseball team dropped the series finale against Division I Sacramento State by the slim margin of 3-2. The Hornets took game one of the series, 6-5, and the Tritons won game two, 7-5.
Guardian file
With the loss, UCSD falls to 5-2 overall.
“”We didn’t play our best baseball and found ourselves very much in the ballgame until the last pitch,”” O’Brien said. “”That’s a good sign. But we can’t accomplish our goals if we don’t play consistent baseball throughout every weekend series. Looking at the big picture, we lost two one-run ballgames to a Division 1 team and feel as though we should have won all three. Our guys know that we belong, and they act that way.””
The Tritons got on the board first in the bottom of the third inning. With two outs, senior rightfielder David Hawk singled up the middle. After Hawk stole second, sophomore leftfielder Damian Fante smacked a single up the middle and plated Hawk.
Triton sophomore pitcher Byron Grubman, the 2003 California Collegiate Athletic Association Freshman of the Year, took the hill for UCSD. He had only given up two singles and three walks through four innings of play. Grubman would go on to throw six innings, give up two runs on five hits, and strike out four Hornet batters.
Sacramento State put single runs up in the top of the fifth and sixth innings.
UCSD, down 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning, knotted the game up at two when senior first baseman Jeff Riddle hit a two-out single to score junior shortstop Keith Hernandez from second base.
Junior transfer pitcher Justin Allred came on in relief of Grubman in the top of the seventh inning.
Hornet second baseman Jack Arroyo led off the top of the seventh inning against Allred with a solo home run to left-center field. The run proved to be the game-winner, and Allred took the loss falling to 1-1 on the year.
Sacramento State pitcher Warren Rosebrock earned the win for the Hornets and improved to 1-0. He went six innings and gave up six hits, two runs and two walks. The Hornets’ victory improves their record to 5-2.
For the Tritons, Fante and Riddle each went 2-for-4 on the day with an RBI apiece.
The Tritons open their 2004 CCAA season this week with a four-game series against Cal State Los Angeles. Single games at home on Feb. 12 and Feb. 13 will begin at 2:30 p.m. The four-game series then moves to Los Angeles for a doubleheader on Feb. 14.
