A four-run seventh-inning rally lifted Grand Canyon University to a 6-5 win over the UCSD baseball team in the first game of a March 14 doubleheader in Phoenix. But the No. 21 Tritons bounced back with a 5-1 win in the second game to improve to 14-10 on the season.
The Tritons traveled to Arizona for the nonconference doubleheader coming off four-straight league games versus No. 7 Cal State Los Angeles and began the first game against the Antelopes with the same powerful offense that carried them to three wins over the Eagles.
The offense gave senior starting pitcher Jose Navarro some breathing room, scoring a run in the first inning and adding two in the second and one more in the third for a 4-0 lead. Grand Canyon would finally get to Navarro for a run in the bottom of the fourth, only to watch as the Tritons put together another hit barrage an inning later to regain their four-run lead at 5-1.
Navarro kept his gem going through six innings but ran into trouble in the bottom of the seventh, allowing a two-run double to Antelopes’ centerfielder Brian Smith. Grand Canyon would go on to add two more in the inning for a 5-5 tie going into the eighth. The Tritons could not regain the lead in their half of the eighth inning, but would sacrifice the go-ahead run to the Antelopes in the bottom of the inning.
Freshman pitcher Trevor Decker, who came in to relieve Navarro in the middle of the seventh, was tagged with the loss after surrendering the winning run on a left field single to Grand Canyon catcher Tristan Blalock.
Decker, who gave up a walk-off home run earlier in the year, explained his gameplan coming into the pressure situation.
“I just wanted to throw strikes, keep the ball down and do my job of getting us back into the dugout to hit,” he said.
Blalock came up with an RBI opportunity because of leftfielder Giancarlo Silvestri’s leadoff double and a sacrifice bunt from second baseman Jacob Hanna. Blalock’s hit on a 2-2 count was more than enough to score Silvestri from third and put his Antelopes up for good.
“They’re hitting pitches in big-time situations with a lot of pressure on them and just coming through for their team,” Decker said.
Although Grand Canyon would go on to win, the Antelopes’ closer Matt Michael did not come away with his fifth save of the year without some ninth-inning dramatics. First baseman Brian Trump doubled and advanced to third, putting the Tritons in tying position and, hopefully, sending the game to extra innings. However, Trump inexplicably broke for home in an attempt to win on a steal, only to be tagged out by Blalock to end the game.
“I think to avoid these comeback losses, we just need to stay up all game and focus a little harder,” Decker said. “We just need to keep the pressure on every inning instead of building it up quickly and losing it. We need to finish them off and not let them hang around.”
Blowing a four-run lead to an unranked, nonconference opponent threatened to put the Tritons in position to get swept going into the toughest part of their schedule, where they will face No. 3 Chico State three times in between two series against No. 13 Cal State Stanislaus. However, UCSD posted a 5-1 win in the second game against Grand Canyon behind Byron Grubman’s three-hit, complete-game performance to split the series.
“It was a tough split for us in Grand Canyon because we felt like we outplayed them for an entire day, except for one inning,” UCSD head coach Dan O’Brien said. “The good news is this team is starting to realize how good they can be and we’re building a lot of confidence.”
One player who must be riding a wave of confidence is freshman second baseman Garret Imeson, who came off a ridiculous 9-hit, 8-RBI performance in the series against Cal State Los Angeles with five hits in the doubleheader versus Grand Canyon. His two hits in the second game, coupled with multihit days from senior outfielder David Gomez and junior second baseman John Roth, gave the Tritons five runs in the win, including a four-run third inning that put UCSD ahead for good.
The 5-1 victory gave the Tritons their 14th overall win, which is significantly fewer than the records of their next opponents, Chico State and Cal State Stanislaus. The No. 3 Wildcats boast an 18-5 record, while the Warriors stand at 16-7. While overall records matter, the three teams will be jockeying for a position at the top of the competitive California Collegiate Athletic Association. Chico State leads the CCAA with a 7-3 league record and the Tritons and Warriors are close behind with 7-5 marks. A winning record in all three series against Cal State Stanislaus and Chico State would put the Tritons in good position to pass the Wildcats for the No. 1 seed in the west region of the NCAA.
O’Brien thinks his team is capable of pulling off upsets over their upcoming opponents.
“I’m looking forward to finishing the season with this team as they continue to get better everyday,” O’Brien said.
UCSD will start the first important three-game series against the Warriors at home on March 17. The Tritons will then get a week of rest before hosting the league-leading Wildcats for four games on March 26 and March 27. Finally, UCSD will travel to Turlock, Calif., for the final four matchups against Stanislaus this season on March 31.
