It took just one ping of the aluminum bat to halt UCSD’s historic run at a Division II title, only three wins shy of a Triton national championship.
No. 1 UCSD’s first trip to the Division-II College World Series came to a shocking close in the bottom of the ninth inning in the Tritons’ semifinal game against No. 3 Emporia State University on May 28.
With two out and a runner on third for Emporia State in a tie game, Hornet senior Kellen Lane powered a 0-1 offspeed pitch that hit the scoreboard in right field for a walkoff homer. The long ball was the first of Lane’s career, and it sent UCSD home with a 5-3 defeat.
‘We left everything we had on the field,’ senior first baseman Matt Cantele said. ‘Yeah, we had our chances to put some more runs on the board, but so did they. All in all, some people really stepped up. [Sophomore pitcher] Tim Shibuya threw everything he had and kept us in the game, [senior third baseman] Josh Tanner was smacking
the ball around the yard as usual and we had some huge outfield assists. We played a clean game for the most part. They just got a clutch hit on a good pitch and prevailed.’
The loss closed the Tritons’ season with a record of 41-15. The Hornets advanced to the Division-II National Championship game, where they fell 2-1 to Lynn University.
The Tritons advanced to the semifinal after winning back-to-back elimination contests, and faced another must-win game against Emporia State, which was undefeated in the tournament.
UCSD sent junior Kirby St. John to the mound ‘mdash; the team’s fourth starting pitcher of the tournament ‘mdash; while Emporia State opted to pitch junior Colby Killian who started the Hornets’ first College World Series game.
After the Tritons went down in order during the top of the first, Emporia State led off its half of the inning with a double. The Hornets’ No. 2 batter, attempting to advance his teammate to third, bunted the ball too hard, allowing St. John to throw out the lead runner.
With the game still scoreless, redshirt junior first baseman Brandon Gregorich drew a leadoff walk in the second inning. Gregorich advanced to third base after two groundouts and scored on Cantele’s RBI single to center field.
Emporia State answered with a run in the third inning, using UCSD’s only error in the College World Series to put runners on the corners with no outs. The Hornets took advantage of another UCSD misstep to score on a balk from St. John and tie the game.
The Hornets got their leadoff man on base in the fourth inning as well, when St. John hit catcher Mike Sharp with a pitch. After a failed sacrifice bunt from Emporia State in the next at-bat, Sharp advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a single.
With his team down 2-1, St. John walked the first batter he faced in the fifth inning. A single from the Hornets put two runners on base with none out, prompting head coach Dan O’Brien to pull his starting pitcher from the game.
With his team facing elimination, O’Brien handed sophomore Tim Shibuya the ball to take over on the mound. Shibuya, the staff ace, pitched 7.2 innings in UCSD’s opening nationals game on May 24, throwing 7.2 innings and allowing three runs while being tagged with the loss.
‘I told coach I was ready to go,’ Shibuya said in a statement’ ‘It didn’t matter if it was two days or 10 days [of rest]. I wanted to do what I could do to win the ballgame.’
Entering the game in a tight spot, Shibuya enticed the first Emporia State batter he faced to chase a ball down and away for a swinging strikeout. The next Hornet batter drove the Triton pitcher’s 1-2 pitch to center field for a single, but junior outfielder Robert Sedin’s accurate throw to home allowed junior catcher Kellen Lee to tag the Emporia State runner out at the plate. The outfield assist was UCSD’s second in the game, and saved the Tritons a run.
‘The outfield assists were legit,’ Tanner said. ‘They were huge in killing momentum for the other team and there aren’t many things that are more exciting than throwing out guys at the plate.’
With two out and runners on first and second, Emporia State drove another single to center field. This time, however, Sedin’s throw was up the line and the Hornets took a 3-1 lead.
With their season on the line and only four innings left in the game, the Tritons took back a run in the fourth on an RBI single from Cantele that plated senior second baseman Garrett Imeson.
In the top of the eighth, Sedin erased UCSD’s deficit by scoring from third base on a passed ball.
‘We have been doing it all year,’ Tanner said of the Tritons’ numerous late-inning comebacks. ‘We never give up and we scratch and claw until the final out. We thrive on other teams getting tight under pressure and taking advantage of their mistakes.’
The game was locked in a 3-3 tie when Emporia State came up to bat in the bottom of the ninth against Shibuya. The Hornets led the inning with a walk from third baseman Kevin Wempe before the Tritons induced a popup for the first out. Hornet right fielder Caleb Williamson singled to center field and ‘mdash; as Sedin threw the ball to third trying to tag the lead runner ‘mdash; attempted to take second base. But Williamson was unable to catch the Tritons off guard, and Tanner quickly threw to second to catch the runner in a pickle for the second out.
With a runner on third base, O’Brien called on his closer ‘mdash; sophomore Guido Knudson ‘mdash; to preserve the tie and send the game into extra innings. But Lane quelled those hopes, hitting the walk-off homer.
‘I was shocked because it honestly had never even crossed my mind that we would lose,’ Cantele said. ‘Our team was so close and confident that I was almost conditioned to believing that we would win.’
Despite falling short of a national championship, it was a year of firsts for the Tritons. UCSD won its first regular-season California Collegiate Athletic Association title and claimed its first regional championship, earning a spot at the College World Series.
‘It was a great experience and one that I am going to remember for the rest of my life,’ Cantele said of playing at nationals. ‘The atmosphere of the games were great, our fans were outstanding as always and you could not ask to play on a nicer field than the U.S. national training center.’
Not only did they clinch a berth in the College World Series, the Tritons played well enough throughout the season to enter as the No. 1 seed.
‘This is the best club that UC San Diego has ever had,’ O’Brien said in a statement.’ ‘It’s one thing to be talented, but it’s another to have guys that battle for one another.’ This is a group of guys I’d go into a trench with any day of my life.’ I just couldn’t be more proud of this team and how they competed. They played their hearts out and left everything out on that field.’ That’s all you could ask for.’
Readers can contact Janani Sridharan at [email protected].