After a mediocre mid-March schedule, the UCSD baseball team (16-8 overall, 11-6 California Collegiate Athletic Association) stepped up its play March 25 and March 26 and swept Cal State Los Angeles (8-12 overall, 5-11 CCAA) in a three-game series in Los Angeles. The Tritons inched out the victory in game one with a score of 5-4 and proceeded to crush the Golden Eagles in both ends of the doubleheader, 21-10 and 8-0.
Relieving the pressure:
Between March 11 and March 23, UCSD posted an uncharacteristic 3-4 record. The Tritons stole games one and three from Cal State San Bernardino (9-7 overall, 12-9 CCAA) 13-12 on March 11 and 3-1 on March 12, but dropped game two 6-12 on March 12. In the ensuing series against Cal Poly Pomona (17-12 overall, 15-7 CCAA) on March 20 and March 21, it was just the opposite. UCSD dropped the bookends of the three-game series against the Broncos 7-3 and 7-0, but prevented a series shutout by earning the victory in game two 7-3. The Tritons then dropped their single-game matchup at home against Cal State Dominguez Hills (11-17 overall, 6-14 CCAA) on March 23 in a 12-inning thriller, 4-3.
Heading into the series against Cal State Los Angeles on its first two-game losing streak in 2005, UCSD battled and emerged victorious in all three games against the Golden Eagles. The Tritons took two of three games from Cal State Los Angeles in a series played earlier this year.
In the opener against the Golden Eagles, Triton junior outfielder Matt Lawson led off the top of the first in high fashion with a home run to right center field. UCSD senior shortstop Keith Hernandez then walked and sophomore catcher David Morehead singled, putting runners on the corners. Sophomore designated hitter Brian Trump hit an RBI sacrifice fly and senior second baseman Ricky Pinocchio singled in the inning, picking up another RBI to give the Tritons a 3-0 lead from the outset of the game.
Cal State Los Angeles scored twice in the fourth and two more times in the sixth. At the end of six, the Golden Eagles led 4-3, but UCSD’s tenacity never wavered. In the eighth, Lawson walked and stole second. UCSD senior outfielder Craig King singled, scoring Lawson on an error by the catcher. Hernandez was hit by a pitch and then King scored on a wild pitch and gave UCSD the 5-4 lead and ultimately the win.
The Tritons carried the momentum into the doubleheader on March 26. Four UCSD batters, Pinocchio, senior third baseman Alex Gascon, Lawson and senior catcher Matt Anderson, went yard in the first game of the doubleheader. Hernandez went 5-for-7 with five RBIs and senior designated hitter Joel Clark went 5-for-6 with three RBIs. The offensive attack, launched early in the second inning by Pinocchio’s grand-slam home run, gave the Tritons resurgent energy as they pummeled the Golden Eagles, 21-10.
Cal State Los Angeles chipped away at the Triton lead early in the game and took an 8-5 lead through four when Golden Eagle first baseman Matt Winkleman returned the favor and smacked a grand slam of his own off of UCSD junior starter Jose Navarro.
The Tritons battled back and regained the lead 9-8 in the fifth on Gascon’s homer to center. Clark and Hernandez also pushed runs across.
“There is so much to say about the seniors on this team,” UCSD head coach Dan O’Brien said. “Alex [Gascon] is second in the conference in batting average and one of the best third basemen in the conference, if not the best. Keith [Hernandez] is a four-year starter and one of the most consistent batters we have in our lineup, and Joel [Clark] has really stepped up for us and has filled in and performed in crucial situations when we need him most.”
The Tritons posted another four-run inning in the seventh with Lawson’s two-run home run and Morehead’s RBI single. Leading 15-10, the Tritons left nothing to chance with a big ninth inning.
Anderson led off with a homer to left field, sophomore pinch hitter John Roth notched two RBIs on a fielder’s choice and Clark had another RBI single. Hernandez’s fifth hit of the game was a double, knocking in his fourth and fifth RBI of the game to give UCSD a comfortable 21-10 lead.
UCSD junior pitcher Matt Sweany (1-0) threw 4.1 innings of relief to earn the win.
The nightcap proved to be a continuation of the Triton assault on Cal State Los Angeles. UCSD won 8-0 behind the pitching of junior starter T.C. Geach (1-0). Geach quieted the Golden Eagle bats and pitched a complete game, going seven innings, giving up six hits, no runs while striking out three.
“T.C. has worked hard to become one of our starters,” O’Brien said. “His dedication to this team and to the game is evident when he takes the mound during games and practices.”
In UCSD’s half of the third inning, King walked and later scored on a Cal State Los Angeles error following Triton senior centerfielder Brad Beltz’s bunt single. Lawson had an RBI double and UCSD led 2-0 after three. The Tritons scored single runs in the fourth and fifth innings and added two more in each of the sixth and seventh innings to seal the third victory of the series.
“This is a team whose best baseball is still ahead of them,” O’Brien said. “We play a lot of baseball in April and May, and I’m looking forward to seeing them get into a late-season groove.”
UCSD is back in action at Triton Baseball Stadium in a four-game series on April 1 through April 3. against Cal State Stanislaus.
