The UCSD baseball team welcomed a new cross-town rival, San Diego Christian College, to Triton Baseball Stadium on Feb. 6, and within three innings of their arrival, the Hawks had batted around in a seven-run second inning and a six-run third inning, staking themselves to a comfortable 11-run lead. Trailing 13-2 after the horrible start, the Tritons tried to chip away at their monumental deficit, only to see the Hawks finish them off in a 17-5 win.
The Triton bats were working in the team’s four-game series against San Diego Christian College, but the offense could only muster five runs compared to the Hawks’ 17-run outburst.
The Tritons and Hawks had never met on the baseball diamond before, so the offensive firepower that San Diego Christian College brought to the game was unexpected.
“”We didn’t know a lot about them,”” senior catcher and leftfielder David Morehead said. “”We knew they had a lot of guys who have played D-I last year and they definitely have a lot of guys who can hit the ball and throw the ball as you saw today. But it was a good wake-up call for us.””
UCSD head coach Dan O’Brien was also impressed with the Hawks.
“”It’s a brand new program and no one knew what to expect, but they’ve obviously done a great job putting together a great club,”” he said. “”There’s no reason why they won’t be one of the better clubs in their conference.””
Because of the Hawks’ potent lineup, the Tritons used eight pitchers in the game and the first five all surrendered earned runs. O’Brien went with a freshman starting pitcher, handing the Tritons’ new 6-foot-6-inch right-handed pitcher Daniel Simmons the responsibility. While Simmons will likely be a dominating force on the mound in the future because of his stature, he had a “”welcome-to-college-ball”” moment in this start, giving up six runs – five of them earned – on six hits in only 1.2 innings.
Simmons’ replacement, junior right-handed pitcher Mike Chipp, didn’t do much better, as he needed only one out to clean up the mess that Simmons started in the second, but he gave up a home run to his first batter before ending the nightmare inning.
After the Tritons scored one run in the second, Chipp returned to start the third inning and couldn’t record one out, getting pulled in favor of freshman right-handed pitcher Eric Abraham after surrendering four straight hits and giving up the first two runs of the six-run inning. Abraham came in and didn’t record the first out of the inning until after he allowed another three hits, making seven consecutive San Diego Chritian College hits to start the inning.
The Tritons got another measly run in the bottom of the third, but the Hawks added another two runs in the fourth inning and another one in the fifth to extend their lead to 16-2. UCSD eked out another three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, but that was as close as they would get, as the Hawks went on to add another meaningless run in the top of the eighth before the game was called at the end of the inning with a score of 17-5.
Leading the 17-run, 24-hit onslaught for the Hawks were Kenoli Fonseca, who went 2-for-4 with three runs and three RBIs; Josh Doane, who tallied four hits and three RBIs; and Scott Jarmakowicz, who was a perfect 4-for-4. On the Triton side, many of the team’s dependable hitters had off days. Morehead, one of the team’s top home-run hitters from last year, went 0-for-5 from the leadoff spot, and last-year’s freshman standout, first baseman Matt Cantele, went 0-for-2.
With the loss, the Tritons fall to 3-2 on the young season, though they have yet to play a California Collegiate Athletic Association game and won’t until a two-game series starting on Feb. 22, against Cal Poly Pomona. While the 3-2 start – and especially UCSD’s latest loss – is not exactly what O’Brien had in mind, the blowout allowed him to give his freshmen a lot of unexpected playing time.
“”If we have to draw a positive from today, it’s that we had a chance to get a lot of guys in there and get them an opportunity to prove that they should be contributing more,”” he said. “”So, in that regard, it was a good day.””
Freshmen were extremely important to the Tritons’ success last year, as two freshmen, Cantele and CCAA Freshman of the Year Garret Imeson, were rock solid in the heart of the Triton lineup all year. Now with a year’s experience, all eyes will be on Cantele and Imeson to lead the team back to a CCAA title, something Morehead and the rest of the seniors have experienced, but that Cantele and Imeson have only dreamed of.
While Cantele and Imeson should feel some pressure, O’Brien is careful in handling his young stars.
“”Like last year, we want those guys to be solid, but we don’t want them to go out and try to have these amazing years,”” he said. “”If they just focus on doing their jobs and being solid, they are talented enough where the results will take care of themselves.””
Imeson and Cantele will have their next chance in another nonconference game, when the Tritons face Grand Canyon University in a three-game series starting on Feb. 9 in Arizona. But after their latest loss, the Tritons have a lot of work to do, both mentally and physically, to get to the level at which they want to play.
Morehead isn’t worried about the effect the loss will have on UCSD, however.
“”I think with a team like ours, it fires them up more than anything,”” he said. “”It’s not going to get us down because we’re the kind of team that if you it us, we hit you back harder. Most of the guys are ready to play these guys again tomorrow if we could.””
O’Brien agreed that the loss will not distract a team as dedicated as his.
“”We’re not focused at all on the result today; we’re going to focus on the process of what it’s going to take to improve on today,”” he said. “”If we play to our capabilities, I think we can beat anyone on our schedule, period. This is a great group of guys who work very hard. It’s just right now we’re not executing and that’s why we’ve suffered some losses so far.””
