A strong core of returners combined with new talent shows promise for the 2005 UCSD baseball team. Picked to win the South Division of the California Collegiate Athletic Association, and to be a top contender for the CCAA Championship, the Tritons are determined to live up to the hype and play solid collegiate baseball. The team has already proved its determination with significant wins over Vanguard and Masters College.
“We are known as one of the better teams in the conference,” UCSD head coach Dan O’Brien said. “But we want to be the best.”
Thirteen seniors and 12 juniors comprise the bulk of the 2005 roster, bringing experience, talent and a competitive fire to this year’s squad. The veterans, combined with the solid recruited class of players, show strength on both sides of the field.
“This team is pretty solid top to bottom,” O’Brien said. “It is a strong, cohesive group of players who can compete at the highest level.”
An offensively and defensively sound team, UCSD prides itself on its base-running skills.
“The ability to play heads-up baseball on the base paths is something that we emphasize continually, and we strive to be the best baserunning team in the conference,” O’Brien said.
Defensively, the Tritons return a veteran infield and outfield that are spearheaded by the pitching staff.
“We have five veteran pitchers in the starting rotation this season who have all had success at this level, and we have brought in different guys to help out of the bullpen,” O’Brien said. “The foundation of the pitching staff stems from our three veteran starters who significantly contributed to our success last season.”
O’Brien’s 2005 starting lineup pens senior Joel Clark in left field, junior Damian Fante in right field and junior transfer Matt Lawson in center field. Seniors Brian Robinson, Ricky Pinocchio, Keith Hernandez and Alex Gascon will play first base, second base, shortstop and third base, respectively. Sophomore David Morehead will catch and sophomore Brian Trump will be the designated hitter.
The starting lineup proved solid as UCSD opened the 2005 season in non-conference action against Vanguard University (2-3) on Feb. 5 with a convincing 20-7 win. The Tritons combined for 20 hits in the game and showcased their array of offensive weapons by smacking seven doubles, three triples and a pair of back-to-back home runs by Hernandez and Morehead.
Down 7-6 after three innings of play, UCSD woke up and put up 14 runs over the next three innings, including a nine-run fifth, to seal the victory.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Tritons put the game out of reach when Gascon started the inning with a triple to right field. Fante followed with a double, bringing in Gascon. Lawson reached on an error. Clark then singled, driving in an RBI. With one out and the bases loaded, Trump doubled to centerfield, clearing the bases and giving the Tritons a 14-7 lead.
Junior Ryan Leake (1-0) pitched three scoreless innings for the Tritons and earned the victory after giving up only one hit and striking out five. Senior Trent Crotts, junior Matt Sweany and freshman Nick San Filippo each pitched a scoreless inning for UCSD. Junior southpaw starter Jose Navarro threw for three innings, allowing seven hits and four earned runs.
The Tritons carried their momentum into the following game against Master’s College (3-1) on Feb. 8, winning 10-4.
After Master’s College loaded the bases in the first inning and scored one unearned run in the frame, UCSD senior starter Logan Boutilier (1-0) took control, sending each batter back to the dugout over the next five innings, to earn the victory.
UCSD’s five-run fifth inning put the Tritons ahead 8-1. Though the Mustangs attempted to creep back into the game by putting up single runs in each of the last three innings and loading the bases in the ninth, UCSD’s lead proved to be too much. Triton closer Shlomo Lipetz struck out the final batter of the game, Master’s College catcher Brett Jamie, who stranded three runners on base.
Tritons Hernandez, Morehead and Gascon each had two RBIs apiece in the victory.
UCSD returns to Tritons Baseball Stadium for a four-game stint against non-conference foe Regis University Feb. 11 through Feb. 13. The first pitch is slated for 2 p.m. on Feb. 11.
Stemming from a successful 2004 campaign in which the Tritons finished 35-24 and qualified for the CCAA tournament for the first time, the 2005 UCSD baseball team is poised and ready to showcase its talent and play at the highest level in order to become the best team in the conference.
“If this team wants it badly enough, we have the ability to go all the way,” O’Brien said.
