Winning three of four games at home against Cal State Stanislaus from April 27 to April 29 clinched a California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament berth for the UCSD baseball team, allowing the Tritons to head into their marquee exhibition match against Point Loma Nazarene University – played at the San Diego Padres’ PETCO Park on May 1 – free from worries about their postseason fate.
Triton starting pitcher Tim Strombel took the loss in Point Loma Nazarene University’s 6-1 win over UCSD in an exhibition game played at PETCO Park on May 1.
Maybe the Tritons need the pressure to perform, as the team lost 6-1 and didn’t even eke out a hit until senior second baseman/outfielder John Roth hit a ground ball up the middle off of the diving shortstop’s glove to lead off the top of the eighth inning. A couple pitches later, Roth was caught stealing to kill the Tritons’ only legitimate threat in the game.
Sea Lion starting pitcher Taylor Cameron stumped the Tritons, as the right-hander went five strong hitless innings, allowing only one baserunner on a walk while striking out three Triton batters. The Tritons did not get the same performance from their starting pitcher, junior Tim Strombel, who fell to 3-2 after allowing five runs on five hits and a walk over three and one-third innings.
Head coach Dan O’Brien defended Stombel’s outing and praised the Sea Lions’ offense for pouncing on mistakes.
“”He pitched against a good offense,”” O’Brien said. “”He struggled a little bit, but I thought there were some good things that came from his outing as well.””
Strombel agreed that he allowed the Point Loma Nazarene University hitters to get to him and put up some runs, but was more focused on getting to pitch at PETCO Park.
“”It’s awesome,”” Strombel said. “”I was really grateful to get the chance. On the bus ride over they told me I was starting and I was really excited. This is a big league ballpark; it doesn’t get much better than this.””
Strombel won’t have the benefit of the deeper fences at major league ballparks when he pitches in the CCAA tournament and could be facing better hitters in the coming weeks. Nevertheless, he is confident in his team’s ability to adjust and improve.
“”I think we will be facing more well-rounded hitters [in the CCAA tournament],”” Strombel said. “”They have holes in their swings and our pitchers are a lot better than some of the outings they’ve had today. So I think we’re going to do really well in the playoffs.””
To advance in the CCAA tournament, the Tritons will need their pitchers to minimize their mistakes and their offense to come alive during clutch moments. While the offense sputtered, senior outfielder Matt Lawson had a day to remember in his last appearance at PETCO Park.
Leading off in the top of the ninth inning with his team down 6-0, Lawson turned on a 3-0 pitch and sent it flying high over the 357 foot sign in left field for the team’s first run and the bragging rights of hitting a home run in a major league ballpark.
“”I can’t believe it,”” Lawson said. “”It’s like a dream – it’s amazing. It definitely helps a lot. My swing feels like it’s right on and this is the time you want to get hot.””
O’Brien, while disappointed that the team lost, was quick to find positives from the defeat.
“”Point Loma threw some of their top arms and those guys looked pretty good,”” O’Brien said. “”And that is good for us. That gives our hitters [a chance] to see a little bit of velocity and some pretty good breaking balls. So to see those kind of arms right before we head into our conference tournament was great for our hitters.””
O’Brien needs his hitters to be prepared if the team is going to reach its goal of making it past the CCAA tournament and into the NCAA West Regional Tournament. He said that playing at PETCO Park helped his team to do just that.
“”Playing in a big league ballpark creates a playoff atmosphere and that’s what we are going to be experiencing over the next three weeks,”” he said. “”So I thought it was a great time to play at PETCO. It’s good for our hitters and for our position players who are going to be in tight situations going down the stretch. I think it’s good for our guys because now they can focus on getting our club to the regionals. That’s what we’re focused on.””
Next for the Tritons, they will get a preview of what they could face in the CCAA tournament when they take on No. 5 Cal State Los Angeles in a four-game series from May 3 through May 5, their last series of the season. The teams will play the first two games at UCSD and the next two in Los Angeles. The Tritons will look to improve their ranking – which is currently fourth place – heading into their conference tournament.
