The Tritons have hurled their last pitch, taken their last hack and shagged their last fly ball — at least for this season.
UCSD baseball recently wrapped up its 2001 season with a 13-5 loss to Sonoma State University. It was the culmination of a season that had its share of ups and downs, apexes and nadirs, lights of high and lights of low.
Triton baseball finished with an overall record of 14-34, going 8-15 at home and 6-19 on the road. Though the record may not reflect it, they mad progress throughout the season as many players continued with the quality play that they exhibited in prior seasons, and new players emerged to make their presence felt.
The tough level of pitching in the California Collegiate Athletic Association did not daunt the Triton batsmen, and many put up some solid numbers over the duration of this year’s campaign.
Ryan Larson led the offensive charge, batting a whopping .410 this season. Compiling 73 hits, including 13 doubles, five homeruns and a team-leading 45 runs batted in, Larson certainly got it done at the plate.
Chad Addison was no slouch in the batter’s box either, batting .352 in 196 at-bats while starting every game.
Tyler Sullivan was also strong offensively, notching a .328 average and knocking in 21 runs.
Overall, the rest of the squad did relatively well at the plate with only a couple of players falling below the dreaded Mendoza line. Sullivan was the man on the base paths for UCSD, leading the team in steals, with 11 out of 16 tries.
The Tritons had a more difficult time out on the hill, because opposing batters often feasted on UCSD’s pitched offerings.
Ace hurler John Beaven ended the season with a respectable (in this very offensive division) earned run average of 4.91 and an overall record of 4-8. He led the team with 53 strikeouts and 88 innings pitched. He also ranked the most number of wins.
Andy Hanau was the second-most often used Triton arm, going 57 2/3 innings with a 2-9 record and a 5.93 earned run average.
His 37 K’s were also up among the team leaders, falling behind Beaven and Alexander Cremidan, who had 41 whiffballs. Tommy Sereno saw action in the most games for the Tritons, taking the mound in 18 of the team’s tilts.