UCSD baseball faced California Collegiate Athletic Association competitor CSU Dominguez Hills in a four-game series with the first two games being played in Carson, Calif., March 13 and March 14 and the second two being played in a doubleheader at Triton Baseball Field on March 15. The Tritons won the first three games 8-7, 8-4 and 13-9, respectively. UCSD lost the fourth game 7-4 to the Toros. The Tritons also claimed a road victory in a non-conference game against Azusa Pacific University 7-5 on March 24.
In game one of the series with CSUDH, UCSD pulled out a tight game when the Tritons scored five runs in the sixth inning to go ahead 7-5. The Tritons held off the Toros and earned the victory.
UCSD pitcher Jose Navarro earned the win and improved to 2-4. Byron Grubman earned his first save of the season for the Tritons.
In the second game of the series, UCSD jumped out to an early lead, scoring four runs in the first inning. The Tritons put up two additional runs in the third inning, capped by a solo home run from right fielder Brett Burton. Two more runs in the top of the fourth secured the second victory for UCSD.
Senior designated hitter John Bologna went 3-for-5 and had three stolen bases in the game. Center fielder Matt Smith, first baseman Matt Merrifield, third baseman Keith Albrecht and left fielder Damian Fante each had a stolen base in the game.
Triton hurler Raf Bergstrom went six innings, striking out five Toro batters. With the victory, Bergstrom improved to 3-0.
Game three was much of the same as UCSD put up a total of nine runs within the first two innings. The Tritons went through the entire lineup in the first inning with singles coming from first baseman Jeff Riddle, second baseman Nigel Miller and Fante, and an RBI double from shortstop Keith Hernandez.
Despite home runs from two Toro batters, Dominguez Hills never caught up to the Tritons.
UCSD freshman pitcher Grubman threw six innings and improved to 5-0 on the season.
“”We played well during this series,”” said UCSD head coach Dan O’Brien. “”The most positive thing we can draw from this is that we didn’t play to our potential, and we still were successful. The team is starting to develop some maturity in a sense that the guys are beginning to feel comfortable in their roles. The wins were a great collective effort.””
The fourth game was delayed due to rain. When the game resumed, UCSD was unable to pull out the victory and lost 7-4.
CSUDH scored four runs in the seventh to come out on top.
“”We put ourselves in a position to win,”” O’Brien said. “”There was the same opportunity, and we didn’t close out that game. But Dominguez Hills earned it. They hit a home run to beat us. We didn’t beat ourselves and losing some tight games is just a part of baseball.””
Triton pitcher James Sanders picked up the loss and fell to 1-3. UCSD’s Miller and third baseman Chris Brannan had doubles, and Smith knocked a triple in the game.
With the series victories, UCSD improved to 13-7 in the CCAA and 18-12 overall. UCSD faced conference leader Sonoma State over the weekend.
“”It is exciting to be at the top of the conference, but we are only mid way through our season,”” O’Brien said. “”There is a lot of baseball left.””
Look for results of the Sonoma State series in the April 3 issue of the Guardian.
